Moonstone Madness
by Erin T. Aardvark
Summary: the Impossibles deal with an amulet that contains the spirit of an evil magician, capable of possessing anyone he chooses. Rated T for now, but the rating may go up as the story progresses. I'm not sure yet.
1. The Box

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is what happens when I loop "Tubular Bells" on my iPod. For those of you who don't know, "Tubular Bells" (by Mike Oldfield) was the theme from the movie, "The Exorcist" (a movie which I won't touch with a ten foot pole). I've written some doozies before, but I think this one might just take the cake. This one has similar elements to a Camp Monkee Mallard story I wrote back in 2003 called "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," but this is NOT a rehash of that story. As always, the Impossibles and Big D belong to Hanna-Barbera. All other characters you encounter belong to me. Also, Big D's and the Impossibles' real names are ones I created, due to the fact that they was never given on the original cartoon.

* * *

_

It was late at night on the docks of Megatropolis. A cargo ship was coming into the docks, loaded with imports from India. On the boat, as a passenger, was an Indian teenager. His name was Sanjay Patel. The cargo ship was his only way he could afford to get out of his country. He carried a wooden box with him. An intricate pattern was carved into the wooden box. Only Sanjay knew what was inside of it, and he had to make certain no one found out.

Sanjay's grandfather had entrusted him with the object inside the box, telling him to take it as far away from their land as he could. The object in the box was a moonstone amulet, but no ordinary amulet. It was said that this amulet was possessed by an evil spirit named Maldour. Whenever anyone wore the amulet, they would become possessed by this spirit, and not even the most skilled exorcist can dispel it. It is said that nothing can stop the spirit in the amulet once a body has been possessed, until the spirit is finished with them.

But, thankfully, there _was_ a way to keep Maldour from possessing someone. The amulet had to be locked inside the wooden box. As long as the amulet was in the box, Maldour couldn't get out, unless someone opened the box. And Maldour's spirit was a tricky one. He could be heard from inside the box, trying to get someone to open it. And there had been many people who have opened the box without knowing any better. Whenever anyone opened the box, Maldour's spirit would then entice them to put on the amulet. And once someone put on the amulet, there was no turning back for them.

Sanjay's grandfather would have made the trip to America himself, but he was unable to, as he was a victim of the wrath of Maldour's spirit. Sanjay had also lost both his parents, as well as his older brothers and sister to the wrath of the spirit of the amulet. Before he died, Sanjay's grandfather instructed his youngest grandchild to take the box far, far away, where no one would find it. He was told not to just dump the box into the ocean, where someone would likely dig it up somewhere, and the cycle would begin all over again.

As Sanjay walked along the streets of Megatropolis, wondering what in the world he was going to _do_ with this box, he heard something knock.

"Who is there?" he asked, looking around, but he was alone. Nervously, he continued walking. The knocking continued, and Sanjay realized it was coming from the box.

"Let me out, Sanjay," a deep, ominous voice said. "It's awfully difficult to breathe in here."

"Augh!" Sanjay screamed, dropping the box. "Grandfather warned me about this. I must not open the box!"

"I can tell you how to open the box," the voice said. "It really isn't too hard. A smart boy like you can figure it out in no time at all, I'm sure."

"No! No, I will not set you free!" Sanjay shouted, picking up the box. "You will only use me to take over the world! I will not do it!"

"You know you want to, Sanjay. You know you want to open the box."

"I am not listening to you!"

Sanjay began running, trying to find an appropriate place to dispose of the cursed amulet. He kept running and running until he saw a tall building in the distance. He smiled once he saw it, greatly relieved.

"This must be the building Grandfather talked about," he said. "The American law enforcement agency. I am sure Grandfather's friend, Davis Dawson, will help me!"

Sanjay ran for the Secret Security Headquarters building as fast as he possibly could. It was late, and not very many agents worked the night shift. And it was almost positive that the chief of the organization, Davis "Big D" Dawson, wasn't there. He hardly ever worked the night shift.

In any case, Sanjay ran into the building, and was about to run for the elevator when he was stopped by the building's security.

"Hold it!" one officer shouted. "Sorry, kid, but you can't just barge in here, you know."

"I am sorry," Sanjay said. "But it is of the utmost importance that I speak with Mr. Dawson immediately if not sooner."

"He expecting you?"

"No, sir. But it is vitally important!"

"Important or not, kid, the chief isn't here anyway. He went home hours ago. He doesn't work the night shift. Go home and back in the morning."

"I can not go home. I came all the way from India, and I do not have anywhere else to go. If you will permit it, I will stay right here in this room and wait until Mr. Dawson arrives."

The security people looked at each other, and talked it over in a huddle. Once they were done, they turned back to Sanjay.

"What's in the box, kid?" the guard asked.

"Believe me, sir, you would not believe me," Sanjay said. "What is in this box is extremely dangerous. But I assure you, I do not intend on using it against Mr. Dawson, or America or anything like that."

"How about letting us see what's in it?"

"You mean open the box? I do not think that would be a very wise decision."

"We don't have to open it, we can just put it on the X-ray machine."

Sanjay agreed, and gave the box to the security people. They stuck it through the X-ray machine and found the amulet inside.

"What is that thing?" one of the security guards asked.

"It is the Moonstone of Maldour," Sanjay said. "And it must not be removed from that box no matter what the circumstances!"

"Oh boy," another guard muttered. "We've got a live one here. Just _wait_ until the chief hears this one!"

"All right, kid, you can stay here," the first guard said. "But you'll have to stay in the lobby. Believe me, the chief won't like it if we let you run loose in the building. There's a couch right there. You can sleep on that if you want."

"Thank you, sir," Sanjay said. "I am very grateful. Do you have a safe I can store the box in while I am sleeping?"

"Yeah, follow me," the guard said.

And with that, Sanjay took the box and followed the guard to a strong, steel safe that only SSHQ agents were allowed to access. As Sanjay was waiting for the guard to punch in the access code to open the safe, he heard that same knocking again.

"You're willpower is strong, Sanjay, but can it last?" that deep voice asked. "You know you want to find out how to get this box open."

"I do not," Sanjay said. "After what you have done to my family, I want nothing more to do with you! I am only here with you because my grandfather's last request was to find a way to destroy you once and for all."

Sanjay then gave the box to the security guard who locked it up in the safe, and then led the Indian teenager back to the lobby. Sanjay stretched out on the couch, and tried to go to sleep, but it was difficult. He was worried the amulet would somehow get out of the box, and he had to do everything he could to keep it _in_ the box until he got a chance to get rid of that thing for good.


	2. Sanjay's Story

Morning broke, and Big D entered the facility along with his secretary (not to mention granddaughter) Phyllis. They greeted the security guards and were on their way to the elevator to the chief's office when one of the guards stopped them.

"Hold it a minute, boss," he said. "There's a kid here who came in last night and he wants to talk to you. He's over on the couch in the lobby sleeping. He says he has to talk to you. Something about a necklace being the most dangerous thing in the world or something like that. We put the box in one of the safes for the time being, just to humor this kid."

"I see," Big D replied. "Phyllis, head on up to the office. I'm going to look into this."

"All right," Phyllis said, and she walked over to the elevator while the security guard led Big D to the lobby. Sanjay was awake, though he looked a bit tired. His anxieties over the moonstone had kept him awake.

"Okay, kid, here he is," the security guard said.

"Davis Dawson?" Sanjay asked, standing up.

"Yes," Big D replied. "And you are . . . . ."

"Sanjay Patel, sir," Sanjay said. "My grandfather has spoken of you many, many times. Do you remember my grandfather, Rohit Patel?"

"Quite well," Big D replied. "I haven't heard from him in ages. Tell me, what's he doing these days?"

"Not much. He is dead."

Big D was a bit taken by surprise, but he recovered quickly, and cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said. Then he cleared his throat. "My agents tell me you're here to discuss a necklace of sorts?"

"Yes, the Moonstone of Maldour," Sanjay said. "Have you heard of it?"

"No, I haven't. Why don't we take this conversation up to my office? After we retrieve this necklace from the safe."

"All right, but I must tell you, sir, under any circumstances whatsoever, we must not open the box!"

"Very well, then."

Big D walked over to the safe, and opened it. He took the box out, and looked at it. It seemed harmless enough to him, but he wasn't going to open it just yet. He knew the guards thought Sanjay was crazy, but he wanted to get the story on this.

"Tell me about this box," he said.

"The Moonstone of Maldour is inside it," Sanjay said. "And I know you are going to think this is ridiculous, sir, but spirit of Maldour rests inside that amulet. I heard him speaking to me last night. He was trying to get me to open the box!"

"I see."

"I know it sounds absolutely insane, sir, but it is the truth. My grandfather told me to take it far away from my country and dispose of it. But I am not sure how I can do that."

Big D was about to respond when the intercom on his desk buzzed.

"Yes?" Big D asked, pushing the button.

"The Impossibles are here, chief," Phyllis said. "They wanted to check in and let you know they were back from their tour."

"Good, I'm glad they're back," Big D said. "Send them in. And you might as well come in, too, Phyllis. Take notes."

"Yes sir," Phyllis said. A moment later the door opened, and Phyllis and the Impossibles walked into the office. Multi's puppy Skittles barked, and jumped out of her master's arms, and walked over to Sanjay, sniffing him out. Then she wagged her tail, and jumped up to him, and began licking his face.

"Cut that out!" Sanjay shouted, laughing.

"Skittles knows a friend when she sniffs one," Multi said, taking his puppy. But she wriggled out of his grip again, and went over to the wooden box on Big D's desk. Once she sniffed at it, she began whimpering and backing away from it.

"What's up with her?" Fluey asked. "And what's with that crazy box, chief?"

"I need to speak with you boys on a very . . . . . _unusual_ matter," Big D said. "Or more specifically, Agent Fluid, I need to speak with _you_ on an unusual matter."

"What'd I do now?" Fluey asked. Every time Big D wanted to speak with him about something, and not the other two, he assumed he had done something wrong.

"Nothing," Big D said. "At least not that I'm aware of. You have knowledge of the supernatural, don't you?"

"Well, sorta kinda," Fluey said, shrugging. "I mean, if you count my girlfriend being part witch and part vampire."

"Part witch and part vampire?!" Sanjay shouted. "Maybe I should leave . . . . ."

"No, no, that won't be necessary," Big D said. "Phyllis, boys, I would like you to meet Sanjay Patel. His grandfather and I were old friends. Mr. Patel . . . ."

"Sanjay, please, I insist," Sanjay said.

"Very well," Big D said. "This is my granddaughter and secretary, Phyllis. And these three are my top agents, the Impossibles. Agents Coil, Multi, and Fluid."

"But you are also the famous rock band, are you not?" Sanjay asked.

"Yeah," Fluey said. "But don't let that get around, okay?"

"I promise," Sanjay said. "I am very good at keeping secrets."

"So what's this supernatural story, chief?" Multi asked.

"I'll let Sanjay take the floor," Big D said.

"All right," Sanjay said. He took a deep breath, and took the box. "My story will indeed surprise you all. You might not even believe it, but I swear on my family's grave, it is the truth."

"Your family's _what_?!" Coiley asked, like he couldn't believe it.

"My family's grave," Sanjay said with a sigh. "I am all that is left of my family. I will explain what happened to them, as it pertains to this box."

Fluey nodded sympathetically. He knew how Sanjay felt. He had spent most of his life as an orphan himself.

"Inside this box," Sanjay went on, "is an object known as the Moonstone of Maldour. It is said that Maldour's spirit lives inside his amulet. He is able to possess a person's body once a person puts this cursed necklace around their neck. And once the amulet is around someone's neck, there is no turning back. They have no control over themselves, and they are only released when Maldour's spirit is finished with them."

"Anyone for _The Exorcist_?" Fluey said, under his breath. Multi nudged him in the ribs.

"I heard that," Sanjay said. "No exorcist has been able to dispel Maldour from anyone, no matter how skilled. Believe me, the amulet is nothing but the purest of pure evil! Believe me, I have seen it first hand!"

"How so?" Multi asked.

"My mother was one of Maldour's victims," Sanjay said. The others just stared at him, too shocked to say anything. Skittles jumped off of Multi's lap, and walked over to Sanjay, whimpering, and jumping into his lap. She began licking his hand comfortingly, as he pet her.

"It was a long while ago," Sanjay said. "I was only a year old when my mother found the box. We lived on a farm near a stream. My mother had gone out to the stream to gather some water. That is where she found the box. It had washed up by the stream. Her curiosity about it eventually got the better of her, and she tried to figure out a way to get the box open. At the time, no one could foresee the consequences. After two years, she finally managed to crack the code that unlocked the box, and there she found the moonstone. I was only three years old, so I did not notice much of the change, but my grandfather did. For several years, my mother ruled our home with an iron fist. Whenever anyone stood up against her, she would punish them. And she was _very_ brutal! And, as time went by, the worse she got. For fifteen years, my family suffered at the hands of my cruel mother, all because of the amulet. My grandfather researched in secret to find out more about that awful thing. He managed to find out it was the Moonstone of Maldour. He stood up against my mother and tried to take it from her. But Maldour had already taken over my mother's body, and there was no help for her. Only just a few days ago, that terrible wizard made her destroy our farm, and our home. Then, one by one, she was going to destroy all of us. My father was first, then my oldest brother. My other older brother, my older sister, my grandfather, and I tried to get away before she could get to us, but she caught up to us, and my brother and sister met their fate almost instantly. My grandfather struggled with my mother, and she was hitting him with all the magic Maldour possessed in his amulet. It took quite a struggle, but my grandfather finally managed to take the amulet away from my mother, but it was too late for her. She had died the moment my grandfather took the amulet off. My grandfather then put it inside this box, and he gave the box to me, along with all the money he had. It wasn't much, but it was enough to ensure me passage to America. He told me to destroy the amulet. And I must. It is nothing but trouble."

The entire room fell silent. Even Skittles didn't make a sound. The Impossibles exchanged a glance. They weren't sure if the story Sanjay told was true or not, but they didn't say anything. He was obviously upset about what had happened concerning the amulet, and the boys didn't want to make him feel worse. Big D cleared his throat.

"That being said," he replied, "I suggest we put it under lock and key immediately for the time being. I'd like to get as much information on this matter as I can, so we can adequately destroy it."

"Can't we just smash it with a hammer?" Fluey asked.

"It is not that easy," Sanjay said. "We would have to open the box first. And I would not advise that! The spirit of Maldour has spoken to me, trying to convince me to open the box. Once he can convince someone to open the box, he will try to convince whoever opened it to put on the necklace. Only then can he control someone. I have learned many people _have_ opened the box, but managed not to fall for Maldour's lines. But those people are few and far between victims."

"Wait a minute, I've got it," Fluey said, snapping his fingers. "I know how we can get rid of that thing, box and all."

"How?" Coiley asked.

"Mike just got finished rigging up a gigantic monster truck, and the wheels on this baby are huge!" Fluey shouted. "I'm sure it could crush that thing in no time flat. And I do mean _flat_!"

"Young man, we can do without those gosh-awful puns of yours," Big D said, giving Fluey a Look. "We are going to put the box in the safe downstairs. Only the security guards and a few agents, as well as Phyllis and myself, have access to the stronghold."

"Yeah, you can't get in there without the code," Multi said. "And the three of us don't even _have_ the access code."

"Which may be a good thing," Big D said, giving Fluey another Look. "Knowing my grandson's pension for getting himself into trouble . . . . . ."

Fluey just bit his lower lip, and smiled sheepishly. Big D then handed the box to Phyllis.

"Take this down to the safes and lock it up," he said. "And whatever you do, do not let anyone open the box!"


	3. Pandora Dawson

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: I forgot to mention that the character Cronella Critch also belongs to Hanna-Barbera, as she appears throughout this fanfic.

* * *

_

Phyllis took the box down to the lobby, and punched the access code on the keypad outside the stronghold and went to one of the safes so she could put the box inside it. But she found herself staring at the box.

"I wonder what this moonstone looks like?" she said.

"I'd be more than happy to show you," a voice said.

"Wh-who said that?!" Phyllis shouted, nervously. She was so surprised, she almost dropped the box.

"Don't be alarmed, Phyllis," the voice said again. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

Phyllis looked all over the room, and then discovered it was the _box_ talking to her.

"Yikes!" she shouted, promptly dropping it.

"Ahhh yes," Maldour's spirit said from inside the box. "I can see where _that_ is going to get old rather fast."

"I must be cracking up," Phyllis said, picking up the box. "I can't believe what Sanjay said was true!"

"You're not cracking up, Phyllis."

"How do you know my name?"

"I know more than that. I know almost everything."

"Really?"

"Yes. And there's no harm in opening the box, just to see what my moonstone looks like."

"Well . . . . . I don't know . . . . ."

"Come now. There's no harm in just _looking_ at it. All you have to do is open the box. Just push the first button on the top row, the third button on the second row, and the last button on the third row."

Phyllis thought it over. She figured it couldn't possibly hurt just to _look_ at the amulet. And she really wanted to see what this moonstone looked like. So she pushed the buttons Maldour indicated. Once the buttons were pressed, the lid of the box opened, revealing what appeared to be the biggest diamond Phyllis had ever seen in her life. It was set in an ornate gold setting on a gold chain.

"Ohhhh . . . ." she breathed, just staring at it. She couldn't take her eyes off it.

"Yes, quite a lovely little bauble, isn't it," Maldour said.

"It's spec_tac_ular!" Phyllis shouted. "I've never seen anything like it in my life!"

"I'm sure it would look lovely on you. Why don't you try it on?"

"Well . . . ."

"Oh come now. You're not afraid, are you?"

"Well, no, but . . . . ."

"Just put it on for one second. You can take it right back off after you see what you look like wearing it."

"Well . . . . . maybe just for _one_ second."

Phyllis took the amulet's chain, and then slipped it on. The minute she put it on, something strange came over her. A red mist surrounded her, and everything around her seemed to disappear. She felt incredibly strange. She didn't know what was happening to her, but one thing she _did_ know was that she did _not_ want to take that amulet off.

"How do you feel now, Phyllis?" Maldour asked.

"Incredible," Phyllis said. "Just plain incredible."

"Stick with me, my dear. We'll go places."

Phyllis just stood there and laughed. As she was putting the empty box in the safe, Sanjay happened down to the area to see what was taking Phyllis so long. Immediately, he saw the amulet around her neck.

"Good sweet Ganges!" he gasped. "The amulet! You are wearing the amulet! I must tell Mr. Dawson right away!"

"Stop him, Phyllis," Maldour said.

Phyllis raised her hand, and a beam of light shot out of her fingertips, and surrounded Sanjay. Sanjay let out a shriek of pain, and fell to the floor unconscious.

"Now what should I do with him?" Phyllis asked.

"We'll take care of him quickly," Maldour said. "We have more important work to do."

And with that, Maldour began to laugh evilly, and Phyllis joined in.

Meanwhile, Fluey had ventured into the SSHQ mailroom, where his girlfriend, Danalleah Critch, was going through the singing Impossibles' fan mail.

"Hi, Dani," he said. "I need to ask you something."

"Sure," Danalleah said, smiling at her boyfriend. "What's up?"

"What do you know about the Moonstone of Maldour?"

"The what of who?!"

"Well, that answers my question."

"Seriously, Fluey, what is the . . . . the . . . . . whatever it is you said?"

"I don't know off hand. This guy from India, Sanjay, came in with it, told us it was an amulet called the Moonstone of Maldour, and said whatever we do, do not open the box. Sanjay said it was evil."

"Well, I don't know anything about it, but I'm sure Mother would. She knows everything there is to know about this sort of thing."

Fluey nodded, but he wasn't particularly thrilled with that idea. Danalleah's mother, Cronella Critch the Tricky Witch, was one of the Impossibles' foes. She now spent her days at the Megatropolis City Pound, since she had been turned into a cat for seven years. And Cronella wasn't too keen on the prospect of her only daughter dated one of her arch enemies. But Danalleah had a point, so she left the SSHQ to visit the pound.

Cronella was sitting inside a cage, washing her paws, and trying to tune out her annoying neighbors. The cat to her right did nothing but yowl all day, the cat to her left hissed whenever anyone came in to look at the cats, the cat above her always paced its cage, and the cat below her pawed at the cage bars. This was the worst thing about being a cat. Instead of sending her to jail, they sent her to the pound.

In any case, Danalleah walked into the cat room, and spotted Cronella.

"Hello, Mother," she said.

"Oh goody," Cronella said, sarcastically. "A visit from my bubble brained bleached blond daughter."

"It's nice to see you, too, Mother," Danalleah said, rolling her eyes. She was used to this. Cronella had never been the ideal mother.

"Well, to what do I owe this displeasure?" Cronella asked, licking her paw, and rubbing it against her head to wash her ears.

"I need to ask you something," Danalleah said. "Fluey said somebody came into the office with something called . . . . I think he said it was the Moonstone of Maldour or something like that?"

"REEEEEEOOOOOWWWW!" Cronella shrieked, and she flew to the top of her cage and latched her claws into the ceiling (which was pretty interesting, considering the cage was stainless steel). Her fur was bristled, and her tail had puffed out. She looked positively petrified. And her startled screech almost made Danalleah jump out of her skin!

"Mother, what's the matter?!" she asked. She had never seen her mother react like _that_ to anything before!

"DON'T YOU EVER SAY THAT NAME IN MY PRESENCE AGAIN!" Cronella screamed, as she got down. "That moonstone of his . . . . . ooooooohhhhhh!"

"I don't think I understand, Mother."

"Trust me on this, that moonstone and that magician are _nothing_ but trouble! The things he's done . . . . . ."

"Who is this Maldour person, anyway?"

"YAAAAHHHHH!"

Once again, Cronella's fur bristled, and she shot to the top of her cage. Danalleah looked at her, confused.

"Uhhh, Mother?" she asked.

"Stay away from that moonstone!" Cronella shouted. "Destroy it! Demolish it! Don't even _look_ at it! And tell that to your Impossible boyfriend, as well! It's too dangerous, even for him and his friends to handle! Keep him way from that stone!"

"You actually want me to warn him about trouble?" Danalleah asked.

"Yes, I know, I know. I may not like that post nasal drip of yours . . . . . I might even go as far as saying I _despise_ him! But I wouldn't wish a fate like that on even my worst enemy . . . . which he probably is."

"I still don't get it, Mother. What's so awful about this moonstone?"

"I can only hope you _never_ find out! Let me tell you something, missy! Even Madam Crowe herself was intimidated by _this_ one!"

Danalleah looked at her mother, wide-eyed with shock. Madam Crowe was once the head of the Witch's Union, and probably the toughest witch of them all. If _she_ could be intimidated by this Moonstone of Maldour, that only told Danalleah it was _big_ trouble.

Back at HQ, Phyllis was at the filing cabinet, trying to get a drawer open, but it was stuck. She had tucked the amulet under her sweater so no one would see it. Fluey was sitting on the couch, watching her.

"I asked Dani about that moonstone," he said. "She didn't know a thing about it, but she said she'd talk to her mother."

"Cronella Critch," Phyllis said. "Hmph. She's nothing but a hack."

"How would you know? You've never even met her!"

"I just know. Darn this cabinet. Stupid piece of junk! Why does it always do this?!"

"Need some help?"

"No, I don't need help from the likes of _you_!"

"Hey, chill out a minute, Sis, it was just a question! What's with the attitude, anyway?"

"What attitude?"

"The attitude you're copping with me. Don't tell me you're still ticked off at the chief because you found out you're his granddaughter and my half sister instead of his daughter and my aunt."

Phyllis ignored Fluey, and gave the file cabinet a bang with her fist. She finally had enough of wrestling with it. She took a few steps back, and thrust her hand out at the cabinet. A beam of light shot out of her palm, and blasted the cabinet. Papers went flying everywhere. Fluey's jaw nearly hit the floor.

"How did you do that?!" he shouted.

"That is none of your business!" Phyllis shouted, and suddenly her eyes turned red.

"Phyllis, your . . . . . your eyes . . . ." he gasped.

Again, Phyllis ignored him, gathered up the files, and snapped her fingers. The file cabinet was restored to normal, and Phyllis sat down at her desk in front of her typewriter. Fluey just stared after her, completely stunned, wondering _how_ in the world Phyllis could have accomplished something like _that_!

"Well, what are _you_ looking at, twerp?!" she shouted. "Get out of here!"

Immediately, Fluey took off running. It was a bit uncharacteristic for him, but he wasn't exactly sure what to make of this situation, and the only thing he could _think_ of doing was getting out of there. He had seen Phyllis angry before, and it wasn't normally a pretty sight.

"Stupid kid," she muttered, and she began typing.

"What are you doing?" Maldour asked.

"Typing reports for Big D," Phyllis said.

"Why doesn't he go and type his _own_ reports?"

"It's orders."

"You don't have to follow take their orders anymore. You don't even have to follow their rules anymore, either. You can make your _own_ rules.

"True. Very true. As a matter of fact, I'm not gonna play by their rules anymore."

"You have charisma, Phyllis. You could go down in history as a great leader.

"Great leader. You've got me hooked Maldour."

"All the great leaders in the world had charisma. The same charisma as yourself. You could rule the world. With my help, you'd be unstoppable."

"Unstoppable. Hmmm . . . . . I like the sound of this."

The red glow returned to Phyllis's eyes. She was envisioning herself as Queen of the World. Maldour had complete control over her.


	4. Today Megatropolis Tomorrow the World

The next morning, Phyllis came into the SSHQ building wearing a skin-hugging, long red dress, that had a slit in the skirt, which went all the way up to her thigh, and bright red stilettos. Since the dress was so tight on her, she had to expose the amulet. But that was fine with her.

As she walked across the lobby, every last person there stopped what they were doing and stared at her.

"Holy mothera . . . . . ." one of them said.

"Uhhh . . . ." another replied, clearing his throat. "You look . . . . . _different_ today, Miss Dawson . . . . ."

"Is that a bad thing?" Phyllis asked, batting her eyelashes coyly.

"Well, ehhh, _no_ . . . . ." the security guard said. "We're just not used to seeing you dressed like _that_."

"Does it intimidate you?" Phyllis asked, moving closer to the guard.

"No, uhhh . . . . . well, kinda. And there's the fact that the chief's got a strict dress code, and . . . . ."

Phyllis merely giggled, and approached the guard slowly. Then she pulled him close to her, and kissed him passionately. Once she let go the guard was completely stupefied, and he fell to the ground, babbling like an idiot.

"Gaaahhh . . . . . buhhh . . . . . . mwuuhhh . . . . ." he stammered.

"See you around, boys," Phyllis said, then walked to the elevator. She pushed the down button, and climbed in once it arrived.

"I know she's the boss's grandkid, but really . . . . ." another guard said.

Phyllis got off the elevator on the second to last floor of the building, where the SSHQ's chief mechanic, Mike Rogers, garage/hanger was. Mike was fiddling with a car engine when Phyllis arrived.

"Hello, Michael," she said, sensuously. Mike leaned up quickly, which resulted in him banging his head against the raised hood.

"Ow!" he shouted, rubbing his head. Then he looked over and saw Phyllis standing there, and his jaw nearly hit the floor.

"Phyllis, is that _you_?!" he shouted.

"It sure is, handsome," Phyllis said, gliding over to Mike.

"Uhh . . . ." Mike said, a little nervously. "What are you doin' all the way down here?"

"I came to see you, silly. I need a little . . . . . favor."

"What kind of favor?"

"Fluey said you finished rigging up a monster truck, with gigantic tires. I want to borrow it."

"You want to borrow a Bigfoot monster truck? Somehow, I can't see you drivin' one of those suckers. Do you even know how to operate it?"

"How hard can it be?"

"What do you want it for, anyway?"

Phyllis didn't answer. She just pulled Mike in and kissed him passionately. Mike quickly pulled away, a bit startled.

"Hey, whoa, wait a minute here!" he shouted. "What _are_ you up to?"

"Little ol' me?" Phyllis asked. "I just want to borrow your truck."

"Not unless you tell me what you want it for."

"Oh, I'll tell you all right, if you really, _really_ want to know. Of course, that only means I'll have to kill you after I tell you."

"You're kiddin' about that, right?"

Instead of answering the question, Phyllis picked up Mike's wrench, and hit him with it. She didn't knock him out, but she did daze him.

"Hey, what was that for?!" he shouted.

Phyllis didn't say anything. She just snickered evilly, and began advancing toward Mike, turning out the lights in the garage.

Meanwhile, Fluey was talking to Multi, Coiley, and the chief about what had happened the day before.

"I'm telling ya, chief, she was acting really weird!" he shouted. "Her eyes turned red, and she just _zapped_ the file cabinet! It was like magic came out of her fingers!"

"Have you been staying up all night watching those late night horror movies again?" Big D asked, giving Fluey a stern look.

"Come on, Fluey, that's way out there," Coiley said.

"I'm serious!" Fluey shouted. "Then she zapped the cabinet again and it was fixed. She also called me a twerp, which she has _never_ done before."

"So what?" Coiley shrugged. "That's just typical sibling love. My oldest sister calls me a twerp all the time!"

Fluey was about to say something more, when Danalleah suddenly burst into the office.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I've got to talk to you, Fluey," she said.

"What's wrong?" Fluey asked. "And why didn't Phyllis call in?"

"She's not at her desk," Danalleah said. "But I have to talk to you about that moonstone. I talked to Mother about it and she said to destroy it. She didn't tell me why, though. It was really weird, she even told me to warn _you_ to stay away from it!"

"Cronella was warning _me_ about potential danger?!" Fluey shouted, incredulously. "Okay, maybe you guys are right, maybe I'm dreaming."

"Mother completely freaked out when I mentioned this Maldour guy," Danalleah said. "She said even Madam Crowe was intimidated by him!"

"I'm getting a bad feeling about this," Multi said. "If Madam Crowe was intimidated, then this thing _must_ be evil like Sanjay said."

"What happened to Sanjay, anyway?" Coiley asked. "I haven't seen him since yesterday."

"Chief, I know this is gonna sound really crazy, but I think you ought to check that box," Fluey said. "I'm getting an awful feeling about it, and you know my instincts are almost never wrong."

"Yes, that's true," Big D said. "Follow me, boys. We'll look into this right away. Miss Critch, since Phyllis has gone AWOL all of a sudden, I would like you to stay here handle the phone."

"Yes sir," Danalleah said.

Big D and the Impossibles raced down to the lobby as fast as they could. Once there, they went to the stronghold, and Big D punched in the access code on the keypad. He and the boys went in, and unlocked the safe. There was the wooden box, and it was sitting there, wide open.

"It's gone," Big D groaned.

"How much you guys wanna bet Phyllis took it?" Fluey asked.

"Let's not jump to conclusions here," Coiley said. "As you said, chief, there are others who have access to this area."

Before Big D could say another word, the foursome heard banging and muffled screaming coming from a nearby janitor's closet. Upon trying to open it, Big D found that the door was locked.

"That's odd," he said.

"Stand back, I'll handle this," Multi said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out one of his sister's hair pins (he had "borrowed" one from her to keep on hand, just in case the need ever came), and began fiddling with the lock.

"Who knew reading your sister's diary would come in handy?" Coiley said. Finally, the door opened, and Big D and the Impossibles found Sanjay sitting on the floor, bound and gagged.

"Holy horrific!" Coiley shouted, and he, Multi, and Fluey began to untie Sanjay.

"What happened?" Multi asked.

"Your secretary, Mr. Dawson!" Sanjay shouted. "She took the moonstone! I saw her! She put it on!"

"I _knew_ it!" Fluey shouted.

"Though I would have bet money it would have been you to put that thing on, Fluey," Coiley said. In response, Fluey smacked his blond teammate in the shoulder as hard as he could.

"What do we do?" Multi asked.

"I do not know about you, but I am getting out of here as fast as I can get!" Sanjay shouted. "I do not intend to be around this!"

And with that, Sanjay took off like a shot out of the building before Big D could stop him. And, before anything else could happen, the door to the stairways opened, and Mike rushed in, and staggered over to the chief. His clothes were torn, his hair was disheveled, and he was practically covered in blood.

"Mike! What happened?!" Coiley shouted.

"What is it, Rogers?" Big D asked.

"Phyllis . . . . ." Mike managed to breathe out. "She . . . . she tried to _kill_ me!"

"What?!" Multi shouted.

"I . . . . . think she . . . . . flipped out or . . . . . somethin'," Mike said. "Then . . . . she stole . . . . . that big truck of mine . . . . . and took off . . . . . outta here!"

"Which way was she going?" Fluey asked.

"I don't know," Mike said. "I didn't see. I sorta . . . . . only came to . . . . a few . . . . seconds . . . . ."

Mike trailed off, and passed out, flat on the floor. Immediately, Big D took action.

"Boys, I want you to track her down!" he shouted. "And be extremely careful! I want to know _exactly_ what she's up to! I'm going to have to dispatch an ambulance for Rogers. Phelps doesn't have the proper equipment for situations like this."

"Right, chief!" the Impossibles shouted. And in a flash, they transformed into their superhero alter egos, raced out to the Impossi-Mobile, and took off down the street.

"Rally ho!" they called out.

Meanwhile, Phyllis had parked Mike's truck in front of City Hall. She had big business to take care of. She walked inside the building, and headed for the mayor's office, but the secretary stopped her.

"Miss, I'm afraid you can't go in there," she said. "Nobody sees the mayor without an appointment."

"I'm not here to see the mayor," Phyllis said. "I'm here to kick him out. I'm taking over."

"You gotta be kidding me!"

"I am _not_ kidding. I'm taking over, and you can't stop me."

"We'll just see about that! Security!"

Security managed to surround the office. Phyllis merely yawned. She snapped his fingers, and sent the security team sky high, right through the roof. The secretary sat down at her desk and shook her head out.

"I've been working too hard," she said.

As she was contemplating that, Phyllis entered the mayor's office and sat down on his desk.

"Okay, mayor, pack it in and get out of here," she said. "This is my office now."

"What's the meaning of this?" the mayor demanded. "Who are you?"

"The name's Phyllis Dawson," Phyllis replied. "And I'm taking over. I run the show now."

"_You_?! But you're a woman!"

"It's time this city was run by somebody new. So get out."

"You have got to be out of your mind!"

"I'm giving you fair warning, mayor, you better get out of here before I get mad!"

"Don't make her mad, sir!" the secretary shouted from outside. "She just blasted your security team to Mars!"

"How can you blast someone to Mars?!" the mayor shouted. "This is absurd! I am not going to sign over my fair city!"

"You blew it mayor," Phyllis said. "I tried to be nice, but now, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to get rough with you."

Phyllis waved one hand in the air, and then shot a powerful piece of magic at the mayor, throwing him into the wall. CRASH! The mayor regained his senses quickly and shook his head out.

"Anybody got a pen?" he asked. "I need to sign my resignation."

"Glad you see it my way, mayor," Phyllis said. "This is my town now. And nobody's gonna stop me!"

Phyllis laughed, and sat down behind the desk. The mayor and the secretary left City Hall, as did everybody else working there. They didn't want to admit it, but they were scared to death of this girl!

Once City Hall was cleared, Phyllis went back to the Monster Truck, and back to the SSHQ. Several security guards were there, under Big D's orders, to take her into custody if she happened to come back to the building.

"Well, what do we have here?" she asked.

"We're sorry to have to do this to you, Miss Dawson," one of the guards said, holding up a pair of handcuffs. "But Big D has issued orders to take you into custody."

"I'm under arrest, is that what you're saying?" Phyllis asked.

"This doesn't have to get ugly, Miss Dawson."

"Oh, I'll show you ugly!"

Phyllis cracked her knuckles and aimed her hands at the guard. A red glow surrounded the him. Phyllis raised her hands, and the guard was hoisted into the air, and then thrown against the wall, and knocked out cold.

"Anybody else?!" she shouted. The guards all shook their heads. Phyllis began walking around them, sizing them up.

"Okay, listen up!" she shouted. "You're going to be my army, and I don't want to hear any complaints about it! Or else!"

"Yes ma'am!" the guards shouted, saluting.

"I'm glad to see we're on the same wavelength," Phyllis said. "As of this moment, the city is mine! Come on!"

Phyllis led her "troops" to the elevator, and rode it up to the top floor. She stormed into the office, startling Big D. He looked up, and immediately saw the moonstone hanging around her neck.

"So it's true," he said. "You _did_ take the amulet. Give to me this instant!"

"Not a chance, Granddaddy," Phyllis said. "I'm going to use this amulet to take over the world."

"You're absolutely mad, Phyllis! I am _not_ going to let you take over the world! Now give me that amulet, young lady!"

"Maybe you didn't hear me right, old man. I'm taking over the world!"

With that, Phyllis shot her hands into the air. That same red glow overtook her eyes and a red beam shot out of her fingertips, blasting Big D right into the wall. Before he could regain his senses, Phyllis blasted him into the wall again, and he lost consciousness.

"Take him and lock him up!" Phyllis ordered.

"But . . . . but Miss Dawson, he's the chief," the guard stammered.

"Not anymore," Phyllis said. "_I'm_ in charge now. Which reminds me, I have a little announcement to make to the rest of the facility. So while I'm doing that, lock up that old geezer and throw away the key!"

"But . . . . ."

Phyllis glared at the guard, her eyes glowing bright red. The guard gulped, and saluted.

"Do you want us to put him in a holding cell here?" he asked.

"No, at the City Hall building," Phyllis said. "That's going to be our new headquarters once we're done here. Now get going!"

"Yes ma'am!" the guards shouted, and they took their unconscious chief away. Once they were gone, Phyllis took the intercom and activated it.

"Now hear this! Now hear this!" she shouted. "As of this very moment, Mr. Davis Dawson is no longer the chief of this agency. I, Phyllis Marie Dawson, am taking over the agency, the city, and the world! And anyone who tries to stop me will be severely punished! And if anyone thinks I'm kidding . . . . . ."

Phyllis snapped her fingers, and the whole building began to shake violently, as if there was an earthquake going on. Everyone in the building began to panic.

"You have five minutes to evacuate the building!" she shouted. "Starting now!"

Knowing that Phyllis had been possessed by the amulet (Big D sent the word out immediately), every last agent cleared the building. Phyllis sent in her "army" to make sure it was empty.

"Are they all out?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am," the guard said. "Not one person is left in the building."

"Good," Phyllis said. She raised her hands into the air and beams of magic flew from her fingertips, surrounding the SSHQ building. It began to rumble and fall apart right then and there. After a few seconds, it had been reduced to rubble.

"Today Megatropolis," she said, climbing into Mike's monster truck. "Tomorrow the world!"

And with that, Phyllis drove off toward City Hall, laughing her head off. The security guards followed her. Most of the other agents ran away in terror. Danalleah, FG, Multi's girlfriend Shawn, the SSHQ's head inventor Reggie Johnson, and the chief medical officer Dr. Phelps, just stood there, staring at the rubble.

"What are we going to do?" Danalleah asked.

"We'd better call the boys back here," Shawn said. "This is an emergency!"


	5. A Revolting Development

The Impossibles were flying around in the Impossi-Jet, looking around for any trace of Phyllis, when the TV in the jet began beeping. Coiley pushed a button, and Dr. Phelps appeared on the screen.

"Boys, we've got a situation here," he said. "Phyllis reduced HQ to rubble."

"Boy, she sure gets around fast, doesn't she?" Fluey said.

"I'm surprised Big D didn't try to stop her," Multi said.

"He did," Dr. Phelps replied. "And she told the security guards to lock him up in City Hall."

"She's holding Big D prisoner?!" Multi shouted, incredulously.

"This isn't good," Coiley said.

"Head to City Hall, Coiley," Fluey said. "Maybe we can convince her to take off that amulet."

"Rally ho!" the boys shouted, and Coiley went directly to City Hall. They parked the jet, and ran inside the main office. Phyllis just sat there, and stared at them.

"Well, if it isn't the calvary," she said, cooly.

"Didn't Big D tell you not to open the box?" Fluey asked. "Sanjay said that thing was dangerous!"

"What harm can it do?" Phyllis asked. "I'm doing this city some good."

"You're gonna destroy the city before you do it any good," Coiley said. "What are you trying to do, anyway?"

"Listen, children," Phyllis went on. "This is _my_ turf now. I've got more power than the three of you will ever have, so you'd better back off!"

"Not until we get that amulet," Multi said. "Hand it over!"

"Not a chance," Phyllis said.

"Okay, if you won't give it to us, we'll just have to take it!" Fluey yelled, and he made a grab for the amulet. The minute he touched it, an electric shock went through him, and he screamed in pain until he finally let go.

"Nice try," Phyllis said. "But it wasn't good enough."

"Phyllis . . . . . Sis, listen to me!" Fluey shouted. "That crazy spirit in the amulet's controlling you! He's got you hypnotized or something. You _have_ to give us the necklace!"

"Why would I give up ultimate power?" Phyllis asked. "I could rip you three to shreds in minutes. And if you even try to stop me, I'll make your lives a living nightmare."

"Time to change tactics," Coiley said. "We'd better regroup with whoever's left."

And with that, the boys left the office. Phyllis rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers. City Hall began to shake. It turned into a huge building. A huge chain link fence popped up around it, complete with barbed wire at the top, to prevent anyone from getting in. Former agents of the SSHQ arrived on the scene and acted as guards. German shepards appeared out of nowhere, guarding the place. The Impossibles just watched, helplessly.

"Diabolical dictators!" Coiley shouted.

"She's getting carried away with this," Multi said.

"It's Maldour's influence," Fluey said. "And she's got more power than us, and she could destroy us easily, thanks to that stupid moonstone."

"How are we going to stop this?" Coiley asked.

"We'll just have to do what George Washington did in seventeen seventy-six," Fluey said. "Start a revolution, before we have World War Three on our hands!"

Multi and Coiley nodded, and the boys contacted Dr. Phelps and told him to gather anyone who was left at HQ and meet the boys at Martha's Diner so they could explain what was up. They also called Multi's father, stepmother, and older sister and told them to be at the diner as well.

Twenty minutes later, the boys arrived at the diner. Coiley's parents and younger sister were there, as were Multi's father, stepmother, sister, and baby brother. Dr. Phelps, Reggie, Shawn, FG, and Danalleah were there as well, and so was Dr. Phelps wife, and their kids (Jamie, Philip, Phoebe, and Joey).

"Is this everybody?" Coiley asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," Shawn said. "Everybody else joined up with Dictator Dawson out of fear."

"And you don't need to explain what's going on, Calvin," Coiley's father, George, said. "We already know."

"The hostile take over's all over the news," his mother, Martha, said.

"What are we gonna do, Coiley?" his sister, Courtney, asked.

"I don't have any idea, but we've _got_ to stop this," Coiley said. "We're going to need all the help we can get."

"Yeah, so far, she's reduced HQ to rubble, and turned City Hall into an army base!" Fluey shouted.

The group stood around, thinking about what to do. As they were doing that, Phyllis was riding around town in a Jeep, wearing an outfit reminiscent of General MacArthur (without the pipe), and looking around the area.

"Are you sure the area's been cleared out?" she asked.

"The area you wanted to blast?" the driver asked. "Yeah, they're all out."

"Good," Phyllis said.

"What I don't get is why we just don't smash the people with the buildings."

"Like I told you, Lieutenant. If I kill everybody, they'll be nobody to dictate."

"Yes ma'am."

"Never question my orders again, Lieutenant."

"Yes ma'am."

Phyllis raised her hands into the air, and large black clouds formed in the sky. Thunder and lightning shot out of them, smashing a lot of the empty building, turning them into rubble. The boys heard the commotion from inside the diner and ran to take a look. Multi's sister, Windy, followed them.

"Holy Mesopotamia!" Fluey shouted.

"This _can't_ be happening!" Windy said.

More lightning shot out of the clouds, smashing windows, demolishing buildings. Whoever was left inside of them panicked and ran for their lives. Phyllis laughed and continued the destruction. Pretty soon, downtown Megatropolis looked like Pompeii after Mount Vesuvius blew.

"And last but not least," Phyllis said, glancing over at the diner, which was still standing. "Ready . . . . . aim . . . . . ."

"Uh oh," Coiley said.

"Flipping firearms!" Multi shouted.

"Hit the deck!" Fluey yelled.

"FIRE!" Phyllis shouted.

KA-BLAM! The lighting was right on target with the diner. The ground shook, and everyone inside was knocked off their feet.

"We'd better get outta here!" Fluey shouted.

"Right," Multi said. "Okay, everybody! Move out, unless you want to get clobbered by bits of falling ceiling and walls!"

The group ran out the back door of the diner as fast as they could. One of Phyllis's men was watching the action through a pair of binoculars.

"All clear, ma'am," he said.

"Good," Phyllis said. "Okay, men, forward!"

The driver put the jeep into first gear and pulled closer into the diner. Phyllis took careful aim and began to blast, destroying it to smithereens.

"Guys, you gotta _do_ something!" Windy shouted.

"We know," Multi said. "The problem is she's got more power than we do. That amulet's got more power than we ever will!"

"Well, you still gotta do something!"

"I guess I'll just have to act as an assassin or something," Fluey said, shrugging. Then he partially converted to liquid. "Rally ho ho!"

Fluey streamed toward the back of Phyllis's jeep. The others looked on, nervously. When Fluey got close enough, he went into a full conversion, converted to tidal wave, and knocked his half sister out of the jeep.

"All right, who's the wise guy?!" Phyllis shouted. "Once I find the guy who did that, I swear he's gonna . . . . ."

"Lookin' for a fight, Sis?" Fluey asked, converting back to solid.

"Well, well," Phyllis said. "If it isn't Fluid Man. Or rather Franky McAlister. Or maybe I should say Little Tony Manikatti."

"Don't ever call me that! You _know_ I hate being called Tony!"

Phyllis didn't respond. She just started to shoot magic out of her fingers like those old western type outlaws. Fluey had to jump around to avoid getting clobbered. Finally Phyllis stopped and looked at Fluey.

"You got guts, baby brother," she said. "Everybody around here knows not to mess with me. When I get mad, you're asking for it."

"I'm not gonna let a _girl_ scare me," Fluey said. "If you'll just give me the amulet . . . . . ."

"Are you kidding? I'm not giving you the amulet! It's the best thing that ever happened to me!"

"Phyllis, I'm warning you, give me that amulet or else!"

"Or else what? You're gonna hit me with your pathetic little tidal wave trick? Forget it, McAlister. I'm taking over, and there's nothing you can do to stop it!"

"I can start a revolution! I can kick your tyrannical butt out of office, toots!"

"You even try to start a revolution, McAlister, you're gonna regret it. I promised I'd make your life a living nightmare, and I will! Make no mistake about that! Soldiers! Move out!"

The minute the jeep began moving out, Phyllis continued to destroy everything in sight. The others just stared.

"It's not safe here," Coiley said.

"Where are we gonna go?" Shawn asked.

"I know a place," Jamie said. "Follow me! I know where we can hide and she won't find us."

"Where is it, Jamie?" Dr. Phelps asked.

"Just come with me!"

Jamie led the group into a wooded area. Then he looked around.

"I know that trap door's around here somewhere," he said.

"What trap door?" Coiley asked.

"Ah ha!" Jamie shouted, walking over to a tree stump. "Here it is."

Jamie lifted the top of the stump, and there was a staircase.

"Whoa!" Multi shouted.

"Cool!" Fluey yelled. "Where did this come from?"

"It's been here a long time," Jamie said. "I think it used to be a bomb shelter or a secret underground spy headquarters. I found it one day while exploring around these woods. Come on!"

Jamie went down the staircase, followed by the rest of the group. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, there was a tunnel. At the end of the tunnel was a door. Jamie opened it, and walked inside. Then he flipped a switch, and the lights came on. The others looked around, amazed. There were several army cots scattered around, some storage spaces, a kitchen, a small television, a surveillance set up, and some communications equipment. Though it was practically primitive compared to the current equipment at the SSHQ, it was still in perfect working order.

"Man, this place is incredible!" Fluey shouted.

"This'll make the perfect headquarters," Multi said. "We're starting a revolution no matter what. We got room down here for everything we'll need. We should figure out what to do first."

"I think it's obvious we have to get that amulet before Phyllis destroys all of Megatropolis!" Coiley shouted.

"It's a little late for that," Courtney said, pointing to the TV. "Check this out."

Courtney happened to be watching the news. They were showing footage of the destruction Phyllis was doing. Downtown Megatropolis was reduced to rubble. Nobody was around, either, except for guards patrolling the city.

"And this is what's left of downtown Megatropolis," the anchorwoman said. "Almost twenty-four hours ago, it was a normal day here in Megatropolis, but now the city is at the mercy of Phyllis Dawson. People are advised to stay in their homes, and whatever you do, don't make Dawson mad."

"Yeah man, _that's_ for sure!" Fluey said, turning off the TV.

"So what do we do first?" Multi's stepmother, Barbara, asked.

"I've got an idea," Fluey said. "Tonight at midnight, we'll go into City Hall, bust out Big D, and get the amulet while Phyllis is sleeping. Provided Dani can do telekinesis, that is."

"I think so," Danalleah said.

"I don't know if this is such a good idea," Shawn said. "What if you guys get caught?"

"We'll be careful," Multi said.

"All I can say is it's not gonna be easy sneaking in there," Coiley said. "Even _with_ our powers!"

"We'll manage," Fluey said. "Come on. We've got a lot to do, and little time to do it."


	6. Jailbreak

While Team Impossible was working on sneaking into City Hall, things were getting worse down there. Phyllis had put out an all points bulletin on the boys.

"Have you found those Impossibles yet?" she asked Lieutenant Daniels.

"They seem to have disappeared, ma'am," Daniels said.

"I want them found and I want them found NOW! Where the heck are they, anyway?!"

"Ma'am, may I make a suggestion?"

"If you must."

"Maybe you oughta get some sleep, ma'am. I mean, you can't rule the world when you're overtired."

"I'm not sleeping until I find those impossible Impossibles!"

"What would you do with them if you got them here, ma'am?"

"I'd beat him and torture him and put scorpions in his nose drops!"

"Scorpions?"

"Too much?"

"Well, just a little."

"Huh. Maybe you're right. Maybe I should call it a night. Just put the night shift on duty and I'll see you in the morning."

"Yes ma'am. Goodnight ma'am."

Phyllis walked off. Daniels went in a separate direction and turned to Sergeant Grady.

"Sheesh!" he shouted. "She's such a dictator!"

"Yeah, but don't tell her that," Grady said. "Why are we working for her, anyway?"

"You kidding? You saw what she did downtown! She could break us like that!"

Daniels snapped his fingers to prove his point, and he and Grady walked off.

(_cue "Pink Panther" theme music here_)

Finally, midnight rolled around. The night guards were out, patrolling the place. Danalleah, FG, Skittles, and the Impossibles were hiding in the bushes. Reggie and Ken were the lookouts. They were up in a tree, watching the place through binoculars.

"There are a couple of guards out there," Reggie said into a walkie-talkie.

"Yeah, we know," Fluey said. "Don't worry. Just keep your eyes open."

"Got it."

The quintet the others snuck over to the main gate. The guards heard a little rustling, and tensed up.

"All right, who's there?!" one shouted. "Whoever you are, you're trespassing on private property!"

"FG, turn off your radio, will ya?!" Fluey hissed at his cousin. "You'll give us away!"

"Sorry," FG said, and she turned off her portable transistor radio. The _Pink Panther_ music stopped. Unfortunately, it was too late. The guards had heard them. Luckily, they couldn't see them.

"What now?" Coiley asked.

"I _really _hate to do this, but we don't have any choice if we want to get in there."

Fluey took a canvas bag he had been carrying and reached inside of it. He dug out a brown glass bottle, and waited for the guard to come over. Once he was close enough, Fluey jumped out of the bushes, behind the guard, grabbed him, and pressed a cloth against the guard's nose and mouth, holding it there until he fell unconscious.

"Do I even want to _know_ what was in that bottle, Fluey?" Multi asked.

"Chloroform," Fluey said. "I didn't want to do it, fellas, but I didn't have much choice. Come on, FG. We're on."

FG nodded, and she and Fluey both converted into liquid and streamed through the gates. FG kept watch while Fluey doused the security alarm. Then he waved to FG, signaling her that it was all clear. FG nodded, and streamed for the gate, opening it for the others. The others ran inside, only to be met by two German shepards, ready to tear them apart.

"Uh no," Coiley said. "Now what?"

"Leave it to me," Multi said, picking up a nearby stick. Then he began waving it in front of the dogs.

"Here boy! Here boy!" he shouted. "Get the stick! Get the stick, boy!"

The German shepards began jumping around whimpering, panting, that sort of thing. Multi threw the stick over the gate, and the shepards began running after it.

"They're just big puppies, really," he said.

"Yeah, but with sharp teeth!" Coiley shouted. "Come on!

The troop went up the front steps and headed for the door. Multi used a hairpin from Windy to unlock the door, and then they snuck in. They began searching the rooms until they found one with two guards standing watch by it.

"I think that's where she's got the chief locked up," Fluey said. Then he turned to Skittles. "You know what to do, girl."

Skittles barked and saluted. Then she revved up, and ran out in front of the guards, barking her head off.

"Hey, how'd that twerpy little mutt get in here?" one asked.

"Who cares?" the other said. "Let's just get rid of her!"

Skittles barked and took off running like a shot. Once the guards started chasing after her, FG, Danalleah, and the Impossibles ran through the door. They found the chief right away, locked in a cell similar to the SSHQ's holding cells.

"Hi, chief," Fluey said. "Do your stuff, Multi."

"How did you boys get in here?" Big D asked as Multi got to work picking the lock with his sister's hairpin.

"It wasn't easy," Fluey said. "Come on, we've got to get that amulet."

"I hope you have a plan," Big D said.

"I do," Fluey said. "Let's go."

The group then snuck through the hallways, while Skittles was still distracting the guards. They found the master bedroom. Phyllis was sound asleep, still wearing the amulet.

"There she is," Multi said.

"I can't believe she's still wearing that darn thing," FG said. "That's gotta be really uncomfortable."

"How are we going to go over there and get it?" Big D asked.

"We're not," Fluey said. "Dani's gonna get it for us, right Dani?

"Well, I'll do my best," Danalleah said. "All I need is a little concentration."

Everybody backed up into the hall. Danalleah stood in the doorway and concentrated as hard as she could. Very slowly, the amulet began to move. Inch by inch, it moved slowly. The suspense was driving everybody crazy. Just before Danalleah managed to get the amulet off Phyllis's neck, Phyllis shifted her position, and Danalleah lost her concentration on it.

"Oh darn it," she said. "Well, I'll just have to try it again."

Danalleah put her fingers on her temples, and concentrated as hard as she could again. She didn't want to take the amulet off too fast. That might have woken Phyllis up, and then they'd all be in trouble. The others drew in their breaths. The whole thing was making them nervous.

"I hope she gets that amulet soon," FG said. "The suspense is killing me."

"That's not the only thing that's going to kill you," Fluey said. "If Phyllis wakes up and finds us here, that is."

Danalleah had almost gotten the amulet, when Phyllis went and changed his position yet again. Danalleah lost her hold and groaned.

"She's not making this easy," she said.

"I have an idea," Multi said. "Try to undo the clasp."

"Hey good thinking," Danalleah said. She stared intently at the clasp in the back of the chain. That seemed to work. Once it was unhooked, the amulet slid off easily. Danalleah tried to bring it over to her, but Phyllis began to stir, and the guards were coming back.

"Hurry up and bring that amulet over here!" Coiley hissed.

Danalleah had to work fast, but it wasn't fast enough. She was so nervous, she ended up losing her control on the amulet. It fell, and hit Phyllis in the head, and that woke her up.

"Ow!" she shouted, sitting up. She saw the amulet laying there and picked it up. "Hey, what the . . . . you!"

Phyllis had just spotted Team Impossible standing there. All of them turned around and beat a hasty retreat. Phyllis glared and punched his intercom button.

"Guards! Guards!" she shouted. "It's them! Stop them!"

"Let's get out of here before the guards show up!" Coiley shouted.

"Anybody know any short cuts?" FG asked.

The group ran as fast as they could. There were German shepards following them as well as the guards, who began to shoot.

"As if this wasn't bad enough!" Fluey yelled. He grabbed the walkie-talkie, and turned it on.

"Reggie! Mr. Mills! Abort mission!" he shouted. "Repeat, abort mission!"

"Something wrong?" Reggie asked.

"We got caught! Get out of that tree and run for headquarters!"

Ken and Reggie jumped out of the tree and began to run. By that time, the rest of the troops caught up with them. The guards were still tailing them, shooting, although it was hard for them trying to hit a moving target. Unfortunately, disaster struck. One guard fired a bullet and it clobbered Big D directly in the shoulder. He stopped, and groaned.

"Chief!" Danalleah shouted. "Oh my gosh . . . . Fluey! They've shot Big D!"

"Oh no," Fluey groaned. "Chief, are you all right?"

"It's nothing," Big D said, holding his hand over his shoulder. "It's absolutely nothing for you to worry about, Fluid. I've suffered worse than this in my day."

"Here come the guards!" Multi shouted.

"Come on, we're close to headquarters," Fluey said. "If we can make it to the stump before they can, we should be home free! RUN FOR IT!"

Luckily, Team Impossible made it to the stump long before the guards showed up. The troops opened the stump, ran down the stairs, down the tunnel and banged on the door.

"What's the password?" the group heard Courtney ask.

"Courtney, we don't _have_ a password," Coiley said. "Let us in, it's us!"

"How do I know it's really you?" Courtney asked.

"Courtney, open the door already!"

Courtney opened the door, and the troops rushed inside. She then shut the door and stared at her big brother and his friends.

"Where's the thing?" she asked.

"I dropped it," Danalleah said. "It landed right on Phyllis's head and she woke up. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Dani," Fluey said, deactivating his powers for the moment. "You tried your best. At least we broke Big D out of there."

"Are you guys all right?" Martha asked.

"We're fine, except Big D took a bullet to the shoulder," Multi said.

"Let's have a look here," Dr. Phelps said leading Big D to the sick bay.

"Well as long as you all got back here okay," Shawn said, hugging Multi.

"Yeah, but we still don't know what to do," Multi said.

"We may need to think of another plan," Fluey said.

With that, the boys set about working on another plan.

While they were doing that, Phyllis was pacing the office, grumbling over what had happened.

"When I get my hands on my stupid baby brother and his stupid friends, I'll . . . . ." she fumed.

"Calm yourself, dear girl," Maldour's voice said from the amulet. "Getting upset won't help matters."

"I know, I know. But it's about all I can think of doing right now!"

"They'll slip up sooner or later. But I know how upset you are. Do you know why your brother wants to take my amulet from you?"

"He keeps saying it's evil."

"No, that's not the reason. He wants my amulet so _he_ can rule the world. _He_ wants my ultimate power for himself. He's just telling you the amulet is evil so you'll surrender it. I'm sure he's planning another trick to take it from you. You must get to him before he can get to you."

"That little . . . . . ooooh, I'll show him!"

Phyllis growled, and her eyes began glowing red. Then she left City Hall, furious.

Back at the underground hideout, Dr. Phelps was giving the group an update on the chief.

"Thank goodness it was just a graze," he said. "It could have been a lot worse than it was."

"That's a relief," Coiley said.

"I wish we had an update for you, doc, but we don't," Fluey said, shrugging. "I don't know what to do."

"We can't think of anything, either," Coiley sighed.

"Mawk," Multi's three-year-old brother, Adam, said, tugging on Multi's leg. "I hungwy!"

"Yeah, I'm hungry, too," Courtney said. "What's to eat around here?"

"Unfortunately, nothing," Martha sighed. "We have a kitchen, but we don't have any food."

Everyone groaned. Fluey sighed, stood up, and started for the door.

"Where are you going?" Multi asked.

"To scout around and see what Phyllis left standing," Fluey said. "Maybe she left a grocery store intact or something."

"Well, take Skittles with you, okay?"

"Sure."

Fluey grabbed Skittles's leash, clipped it to her collar, and left the facility. Skittles used her nose to sniff around to see if she could pick up anything that smelled like food, but it wasn't easy. Megatropolis was practically deserted. Nobody was around, and almost nothing was left.

"Maybe we oughta split up, Skits," Fluey said. "You check down that way, and I'll go down this way, and we'll meet in the middle of the road, okay?"

Skittles barked and saluted. Fluey unclipped her leash, and Skittles went off on her own one way, while Fluey went off in the other direction.

"Boy, this place is a disaster area," he said, looking around. "It'll be a miracle if I can find any food around here!"

Fluey continued along, and stopped by an alley that was near the old supermarket. Phyllis had blasted it, but thankfully, she didn't destroy it. It was deserted, though, but maybe there was some stuff still inside. He was about to run over to the store when suddenly, a hand clamped over his mouth firmly, and an arm wrapped around his shoulders. He heard an evil cackle as he felt himself being pulled into the alley, and let out a scream. He managed to yank the hand off his mouth for a moment.

"SKITTLES!" he screamed as loudly as he could. "Skittles, hel--"

Fluey's call for help was cut short when the hand covered his mouth again. Skittles heard him, though, revved up, and sped to the source of he scream. Even with her super speed, by the time she reached the alley, no one was there. She sniffed around a bit, but all she could manage to find was Fluey's transformer and wrist communicator laying on the ground. The little puppy whimpered, picked them both up in her mouth, and raced back to the underground hideout.


	7. Brownie Points

Fluey struggled against his assailant, screaming his head off, but whoever it was held firm with an iron grip.

"Hold still, you little worm!" his assailant shouted. Fluey stopped struggling when he recognized the voice. Then, he was thrown to the ground, hard. That gave him a chance to turn around and see who grabbed him.

"Phyllis?!" he shouted, incredulously. He took a good look at his older sister, and barely recognized her. Instead of the army uniform, she was now wearing a dark red, very midriff baring tank top, a long brown, slitted skirt, brown sandals that laced up her calves, gold wrist bands, large gold hoop earrings, and a ruby in her navel. Fluey also noticed her fingernails had to be about five or six inches long, and she had red lines all over her body, done in intricate Middle Eastern style patterns.

"Uhhh, what's with the full body tattoo, Sis?" he asked. "That's not permanent, is it? Not to mention the navel piercing, and the outfit. If Big D saw you looking like _that_ . . . . . "

"Shut up!" Phyllis shouted, slapping him across the face. Then she wrenched his arms behind his back and began tying his wrists together.

"Come on, Phyllis!" he shouted, squirming. "Let me go!"

"Not a chance, brother," Phyllis replied. "And stop moving around so much!"

"Look, this isn't you. It's that stupid amulet talking, I know it is. That thing is dangerous. You've got to get rid of it!"

"Why? So you can take it and have the ultimate power for yourself?"

"What?! That's crazy! I don't want the amulet so I can have whatever powers you think it has! I want to destroy it! You've got to listen to me, Phyllis, that thing's evil!"

Phyllis growled, tired of hearing Fluey tell her the amulet was evil. She was convinced he wanted it for himself, but she wasn't going to let him have it, that was for sure. She pulled the back of Fluey's turtleneck down slightly, and ran her index fingernail across the back of his neck, hard, cutting into his skin. Fluey let out a scream, and then suddenly felt dizzy.

"Hey . . . . ." he said. "Wh . . . . what's happening? I feel so . . . . . so . . . . . oooohhhh . . . . ."

With that, Fluey lapsed into unconsciousness, limp as a rag doll. Phyllis smiled evilly, slung her baby brother over her shoulder, and carried him off.

"Sleep well, sweet prince," she cackled. "I've got big plans for you."

Back in the underground shelter, the others were sitting around, waiting for Fluey and Skittles to return.

"What's taking them so long?" Multi asked. "They should have been back by now."

"Maybe they're having a hard time finding food," Shawn said.

"I hope they show up, soon," Jamie said. "I'm _starving_!"

The younger kids weren't faring any better, either. Dr. Phelps's youngest son, Joey, was screaming his head off. Being only a year old, it was the only way he could express his hunger. Adam was on the verge of tears himself. Courtney, Philip, and Phoebe were about ready to climb the walls. Finally, the group heard frantic barking coming from outside the door. Multi got up, and opened it. He saw Skittles there, but Fluey wasn't with her.

"Skittles, where's Fluey?" he asked. Skittles whimpered, and handed her master Fluey's communicator and transformer.

"Hollerin' hi-fi's!" he shouted.

"What's wrong, Multi?" Shawn asked, coming over.

"Fluey's wrist communicator and his transformer," Multi said. "He must be in trouble!"

"Do you think Phyllis might have captured him while he was looking for food?" Coiley asked.

"Most likely," Big D replied.

"We have to find him!" Danalleah shouted, nervously. "Who knows what she'll _do_ to him in the mental state she's in! Mother said Maldour was too much even for the Impossibles to handle!"

"But how are we going to stop her?" Coiley asked. "She'll see us coming, and she might do something drastic to Fluey if we even attempt a rescue."

"Wait a minute, I have an idea," Martha said, snapping her fingers. "Brownies."

"Brownies?" Coiley repeated, giving his mother a strange look. "Mom, this is no time for baking!"

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing," Martha said. "Phyllis comes into the diner every Friday and picks up a batch of my brownies. She told me she just can't resist them."

"I don't blame her," Multi said. "I've had Mrs. Collins's brownies, and they're the best I've ever had."

"That's 'cause Mom makes them from scratch," Coiley said. "Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines are outlawed at our house."

"And we have everything we need in the kitchen," Martha said, pulling out measuring spoons and a couple of bowls.

"Except the ingredients," FG said. "If anybody tries to go out there to find food, Phyllis might just capture them as well."

"Not unless they're the fastest thing in the world," Multi said, making a list. Along with Skittles's many talents, she could also read.

"Okay, girl," he said, giving the list to the puppy. "Go and get everything on that list and bring it back here."

Skittles barked, saluted, and dashed off. She returned twenty minutes later with everything needed to bake brownies, along with some milk, bread, peanut butter, strawberry jam, and some fruit.

"All right, chow time!" Jamie shouted, grabbing an apple from of of the bags.

"Good girl, Skittles," Multi said, petting his puppy.

"Let's get cookin'!" Martha shouted.

"But won't Phyllis be suspicious about them?" Shawn asked. "She might think they'll be laced with sleeping pills or something."

"We'll fake her out," Coiley said. "We'll cook them straight. Let her think they're laced with something. While one of us is distracting her with the brownies, the rest of us will look for Fluey."

The others agreed it was a good plan, so they decided Shawn, since she didn't have any kind of special powers whatsoever, would deliver the brownies, and Coiley, Multi, and Skittles would tunnel underneath City Hall to look for Fluey. Within half an hour, everything was ready. Martha put the brownies into a picnic basket and handed it to Shawn.

"Be careful, you guys," she said. "And good luck!"

"Thanks," Multi said. "I think we'll need it!"

Shawn, Skittles, and the two Imposibles arrived at City Hall and stood away from the front gate, ready to put their plan into action.

"Okay, once you're inside, we'll start the tunnel," Coiley said.

"Are you sure you're not going to end up in Phyllis's office?" Shawn asked.

"Trust me," Coiley said. "Skittles has a super keen sense of smell."

"Once we get Fluey, we'll head for home base," Multi said. "You meet us there."

"What if Phyllis wants a guard to follow me?" Shawn asked.

"Let them," Coiley said. "Big D has a back up plan, and Reggie, my dad, Mr. Mills, and Dr. Phelps will be ready for a guard or something."

"Okay," Shawn said. "Good luck, guys."

Shawn took a deep breath, and walked up to the front gate. She stopped when the guards pointed their guns at her.

"Hold it right there," one said. "This is a restricted area."

"I know," Shawn said. "But Phyllis . . . . uhhh, Ms. Dawson was a friend of mine before she took over. We wanted to bring her something, you know, like a peace offering."

Shawn opened the basket and showed the guards what was inside. After a quick conference, they let her in, and told her to wait in the lobby. Then one headed for Phyllis's office and knocked on the door.

"What?!" Phyllis shouted. The guard opened the door.

"Uhh, ma'am?" he asked.

"What do you want?!" Phyllis shouted. "Can't you see I'm planning world domination here?!"

"There's a girl out in the lobby to see you," the guard said. "Shawn Smith. Claims to be a friend of yours."

"Shawn?" Phyllis asked. "Multi's girlfriend. I wonder what . . . . oooohhh no. If she's here to talk me into releasing my brother, she's got another think coming! I don't know how they found out, but I'm sure . . . ."

"No, ma'am. She just said she was dropping off something as a peace offering."

"Oh, all right. Send her in."

Phyllis acted like it was the biggest chore in the world. The guard left the office. Phyllis cleared his maps and figurines off the desk and waited. Shawn walked in carrying the basket, though she had to do a double take, seeing Phyllis in that revealing get-up of hers as well as the red Henna dye scrawled all over her body.

"What happened to _you_?!" she shouted.

"I don't know how you found out, but I assume that dog of Multi's had something to do with it," Phyllis said, ignoring Shawn's question. "And if you're gonna try to convince me to let my brother go, you'd better think again!"

"No, I wasn't going to ask you to let Fluey go," Shawn said. "And we figured you caught up with him, when Skittles came back to our base without him. Though I think you _should_ let him go."

"Well forget it. So what is this peace offering you've brought?"

"Your favorite. Brownies."

"Brownies, huh? What'd you guys do? Get a box of Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker or something and mix them up?"

"Oh no. Coiley's mother made them from scratch, especially for you."

"What's in 'em? Exlax?"

"Would your grandfather really allow someone to put Exlax in your favorite dessert?"

"I guess you're right. But he probably would let someone put sleeping pills in these, just so you guys could get my amulet. There _have _to be something in these."

"Look, they're harmless. I'll eat one myself. If you don't mind."

"Not at all. Go right ahead."

Shawn picked up a brownie, and took a bite out of it. Phyllis watched her intently, but she didn't have any negative reaction to them. Phyllis still didn't believe it. She pushed his intercom button.

"Okay, guys," she said. "Get in here. NOW!"

Five seconds later, some of the guards arrived in the office.

"Five seconds," Shawn said. "Not bad."

"Sheesh, you guys are the slowest bunch of slugs I've ever seen!" Phyllis said. "When I saw now, I WANT YOU IN HERE BEFORE I TAKE MY FINGER OFF THE INTERCOM BUTTON!"

Phyllis banged her fist on the desk as hard as she could, which caused everybody to jump nervously, Shawn included.

"I'm sure we'll do better next time," Phyllis said.

"Yes ma'am!" the guards shouted, saluting.

"Now men," Phyllis said. "I've got something for you. My brother's friends sent over some brownies for me. I don't trust them. I think it's a trick of Granddaddy's. Now my friend, Shawn here, has eaten one, and it seems safe, but I don't think I can trust her, either."

"What?" one guard asked, looking at Shawn. "Not trust this sweet girl here who was nice enough to bring the brownies over here?"

Phyllis glared at the guard, red tint in his eyes. The guard cleared his throat, and tried to retract that statement.

"I mean, I mean, you're absolutely right, ma'am!" he shouted. "We can't trust anyone these days!"

"Good," Phyllis said. "So you guys test them for me."

Phyllis pushed the plate towards the guards. They were a little hesitant.

"Well . . . ." one said.

"I dunno . . . ." another said.

"What if they really _did_ put something in these?" another asked.

"I said," Phyllis replied, calmly. Then she really let them have it. "TEST THEM!"

The guards jumped and then grabbed for the brownies. Shawn had to stifle a giggle. The guards faces were just so scared, it was funny. Of course, Phyllis happened to hear her.

"Oh what's so funny?" she asked.

"Nothing," Shawn replied, quickly.

"I don't trust you any more than I trust those Impossibles."

"Oh I know that. I know you don't trust anybody."

"Okay, what are you up to?"

"I'm not up to anything."

Phyllis didn't believe her for a second. She just watched the guards intently.

Meanwhile, Skittles was digging her tunnel under the ground, making it big enough for Multi and Coiley to follow her.

"I have a feeling we'll end up in China pretty soon!" Coiley shouted.

"Can't you find any trace of Fluey, Skittles?" Multi asked.

Skittles whimpered, and then started going back the way they came, out of the tunnel. The boys followed her, and they were right back where they started. Skittles whimpered again.

"He's not locked up in here like the chief was, is he, girl?" Multi asked, kneeling down to pet the distressed puppy. Skittles whimpered. Multi picked her up, and cuddled her. "It's okay, girl. You didn't know."

"Now what do we do?" Coiley asked.

"I guess we head back to home base," Multi said, shrugging.

In the meantime, Shawn was still waiting for her chance to leave. The guards hadn't passed out yet, and the brownies were almost gone. Phyllis couldn't take the temptation any longer.

"Okay," he said. "I'm convinced you guys aren't trying to poison me. Now get out of here before I throw you in the cell!"

"You're all heart," Shawn said, and walked off. Phyllis glared at her and picked up a brownie.

"I'll ignore that remark," she said, then taking a bite out of the brownie.

"Hey, that was nice of that girl to bring you those brownies, ma'am," one of the guards said.

"Yeah," Phyllis said. "Follow her."

"What?"

"Follow her! What's the matter, you deaf or something?! She'll lead you right to Granddaddy and the other two Impossibles, you dolt!"

"Oh!"

The guards cleared out of the office. Phyllis rolled her eyes and polished off the rest of the brownies. Then she put her maps and figures back up on her desk and continued to plan his world domination scheme.

Shawn was walking back to headquarters. She felt she was being followed, but she knew she wanted to be followed, so she just kept walking. She finally came to the wooded area, and was about to open the stump, when she put her fingers in her mouth and whistled. That was the signal. Then she ran into the stump and down the stairs, down the tunnel, and banged on the door.

"Password!" Courtney shouted.

"Courtney, just open the door!" Shawn heard Coiley shout, and the door opened.

"Did it work?" Big D asked.

"She took the bait," Shawn said. "And I honestly think she sent the guards after me."

"We'll just have to wait for them, then," Multi said. "We _have_ to find out where Phyllis is keeping Fluey."

"You mean he wasn't at City Hall?" Shawn asked.

"Nope," Coiley said. "She must've anticipated we'd find out she captured him, and locked him up somewhere else."

Shawn nodded. It was the only thing she could do.

Elsewhere, Fluey was finally coming to his senses.

"What hit me?" he moaned. Then he noticed his wrists were in iron shackles, and he had been chained to the wall. He was in a dim room, lit only by candles, and incense was burning.

"Forget what hit me," Fluey said, looking around. "Where the heck _am_ I?!"

Fluey continued looking around and heard a door open. Phyllis came into the room, and smiled evilly.

"I see you finally woke up," she said.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"Just a little underground hideaway I found, with Maldour's help."

"Look, Phyllis, you've got to get rid of that amulet! I know you don't really want to _do_ this! That rotten spirit tricked you! You've got to believe me!"

"I know you want this amulet for yourself. But, I've decided if you want the amulet, then we should work together."

"Work together?"

"Of course. Team up. Join me, baby brother. Come over to my side of the tracks, and we'll rule the world together!"

"Never!"

Phyllis glared at him, took a couple of steps back, and pointed her index finger at Fluey, giving him a good, hard, long zap of magic from the amulet. Fluey let out a blood curdling scream as he was being clobbered. Phyllis finally let up. Fluey was breathing heavily, and he looked up at his sister.

"What . . . . did you . . . . just do?" he asked, weakly.

"I drained your strength," Phyllis said. "I'll give it back to you if you join me."

"And if I don't, you're just gonna zap me again?" Fluey asked.

"No, I have something else in mind. I zapped your strength away so you won't try to escape. So, are you going to join me or not."

"I'll _never_ join the side of evil! _Never_!"

"Have it your way, then, baby brother. You've just sealed your doom."

Phyllis cackled madly as she left. Fluey glared at her and sighed. He didn't know what Phyllis had in store for him, and he didn't think he _wanted_ to know. He just moaned, and closed his eyes, falling into a deep sleep.


	8. Sacrifice

Meanwhile upstairs, the guards had just arrived to the wooded area.

"Where'd she go?" one asked.

"She was right here a second ago," another said.

"BANZAI!" Reggie shouted, as he, Ken, George, and Dr. Phelps jumped out of the trees, and right on top of the four guards.

"Boy, we really walked into _that_ one!" the third guard shouted, as Coiley, Multi, and Big D came topside.

"Darn right," Dr. Phelps said. "Well, what do you guys want to do with them?"

"Let's beat them!" Reggie shouted.

"And torture them!" George yelled.

"And put scorpions in their nose drops!" Ken yelled.

Everyone looked at Ken as if he were crazy. Ken just blushed and smiled sheepishly.

"I know what to do with them," Big D said. "We'll let them go back."

"Go back?" the fourth guard asked.

"Yes," Big D said. "You go back and you tell Phyllis that if she wants us, she can come get us herself. Is that clear?"

"Y-y-y-y-yes sir!" the guards shouted, and then ran off. Everyone went back inside for the upcoming battle.

The guards raced back to City Hall and burst through the office door. Phyllis was so shocked, she jumped nearly a mile.

"Don't you know how to knock?!" she shouted.

"Sorry ma'am," the first guard said.

"So where are those Impossibles?"

"Uhh, Big D said if you wanted them, you would have to go get them yourself."

"He said that? He actually told you to tell me that?!"

"Believe me, ma'am, if I hadn't, I wouldn't be telling you that myself."

Phyllis let out a frustrated groan. Finally she stood up and headed for the door.

"Fine," she said. "That's just fine with me. I'll play their game. But I'm gonna win. Where are they?"

"Follow us, ma'am."

Phyllis groaned again. It was all beginning to drive her crazy. She finally made it to the wooded area, and looked around.

"Okay, kiddies, I'm here," she said. "Come on out!"

No answer. Phyllis folded her arms across her chest.

"Come on, boys, I haven't got all day you know!" she shouted.

Again, no answer. Phyllis was beginning to get frustrated.

"If this is a joke, you guys, it's not very funny! I don't like practical jokes, and you know it!"

Still no answer. Phyllis was really getting annoyed.

"All right, that's it! I'm gonna count to five, and if you're not out here by then, YOU'RE DEAD MEAT! One, two, three, four . . . ."

Before she could reach five, something hit her in the back, and she was knocked off her feet. She looked up, and realized she had been hit with a big, red playground ball.

"Ow!" she shouted. "Okay, who's the wise guy?!"

"Me," Coiley said, coming out into the open. "What of it?"

"Okay, Coil Man, I've had it with you. You honestly think you can beat me?"

"Maybe not me alone, but what about all of us?"

Phyllis looked up and saw Multi, Shawn, FG, Danalleah, Big D, Dr. Phelps, and Reggie standing behind Coiley. She clicked her tongue against her teeth and looked at Coiley.

"O-kay," she said slowly. "You've got a point there."

"Take off that amulet, Phyllis," Big D said. "It's dangerous."

"Okay," Phyllis said. "I'll take it off. But I just want to tell you something."

"What's that?" Multi asked.

Phyllis didn't even bother to take the amulet off. She raised her hands, and lightning blasted everyone off their feet.

"I still have more power than all of you!" she shouted and began to laugh evilly. Then she ran off.

"Love to stay and clean your clocks, kids," she said. "But it's close to midnight, and I've got someone I need to finish off. I mean, some _thing_ I need to finish _up_. Heh, heh, heh."

"I don't like the sound of that heh, heh, heh," FG commented, as Phyllis ran off, disappearing out of sight.

"Go to it, Skittles!" Coiley shouted. "Track her down! If Skittles can track down Phyllis, she might lead us straight to Fluey!"

"It's worth a try," Multi said. "Okay, Skittles! Go for it!"

Skittles barked, and saluted, and then she began sniffing around. She knew Phyllis's scent just as well as she knew the Impossibles' scents, but for some reason, she couldn't seem to track her down.

"Now what do we do?" Coiley asked. Skittles began sniffing around again, and then suddenly ran off at top speed.

"I think she picked up the scent!" Multi shouted. He, Coiley, and Big D ran after the puppy. Then, they heard Skittles crash into something, and then a thud.

"Yaaaaahhhhh!" someone screamed. Multi, Coiley, and Big D followed the source of the scream and found none other than Sanjay Patel, laying flat on his back, with Skittles sitting on his chest, licking his face.

"Sanjay, what are you doing here?" Coiley asked. "I thought you left."

"I did," Sanjay said. "I must say, your dog certainly bowls me over! Would you mind calling her off so that I can get up and explain why I am here?"

"Sure," Multi said. "Okay, here, girl. Let him up."

Skittles obediently got off Sanjay's chest, and trotted over to Multi. Sanjay got up and brushed himself off.

"So what are you doing here?" Coiley asked.

"I saw that . . . . . that devil woman downtown yesterday with your friend," Sanjay said. "He looked like he was unconscious. I followed her to see where she was taking him, because I knew it _had_ to be trouble, considering she was still wearing that cursed moonstone, and she was dressed similarly to my mother when she was a prisoner of the moonstone."

"Where did she take him?" Big D asked. "It's of utmost urgency that we find them!"

"I would most certainly say it is," Sanjay said. "Once I saw where she had taken him, I knew I had to find you right away, Mr. Dawson. She took him to an old building at the edge of town. It has been abandoned for years, but that is not why I have to take you to her. I found out that the building was once the secret meeting place of a group of people . . . . . and Maldour was once the head of this . . . . . this cult, for lack of better word. They were known as Mystics of the Moonstone. The basement of that building has an altar in it. I know what your secretary is up to, Mr. Dawson. She is going to offer your friend to some nonexistent being."

"Sufferin' sacrifice!" Multi shouted.

"Exactly," Sanjay said. "That is how she killed my father and my oldest brother. If the rest of us had not tried to escape when we did, she would have sacrificed us, too. Maldour will convince whoever is wearing his moonstone that someone who is trying to take it away from them only wants their power for themselves, and then, they must be dealt with accordingly."

"You have to take us to this building, Sanjay!" Multi shouted. "It's a matter of life or death!"

"I know, I know," Sanjay said. "Follow me! We must hurry! It is almost midnight, and she will sacrifice your friend at the stroke of twelve!"

Multi, Coiley, Skittles and Big D ran off following Sanjay. They just had to get to that building as fast as they could.

Meanwhile, Fluey was starting to wake up again, though it felt like his eyelids were made of lead. He moaned, and realized he was no longer chained to the wall. Instead, he was laying on a cold, stone slab of some kind, and tied up. He figured, even if Phyllis had drained his strength, she wasn't taking chances of him escaping. Rope was tied around his chest, waist (which pinned his wrists at his sides), just below his knees, and ankles. He also noticed he was wearing what appeared to be a toga of some kind.

"Oh boy . . . . ." he groaned. "I _really_ don't like the looks of this . . . ."

Fluey turned his head to the side, and saw Phyllis lighting various candles around the room, and igniting incense in several burners.

"What are you up to, now?" he asked.

"You'll see," Phyllis said. Then she took a large sheet from a shelf, and walked over to the stone slab. She unwrapped it, and revealed a long, sharp dagger. Fluey began to get a little nervous.

"Hey . . . . hey, what are you gonna do with _that_?!" he shouted.

"Silence!" Phyllis shouted, holding the dagger above her head. "You, my little brother, are about to make a journey. A journey into another level of existence."

"Another level of . . . . holy Mesopotamia! You don't mean you're gonna . . . ."

Phyllis said nothing. She just smiled evilly, and put the dagger down on the floor for a moment. Fluey immediately began struggling, trying to get his way out of this mess, but he was tied too tightly. There was only one other option he had.

"HELP!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "Somebody help me!"

"Ahem," Phyllis said, glaring at him, and holding the dagger at his neck. "Would it be too much to ask if I could please have a little QUIET?!"

Fluey cringed a bit, as Phyllis had just screamed right in his face.

"You see, for this process to work, one must remain quiet and still," she said, taking a piece of cloth from a nearby box. Then, she pulled a small bottle out of the box, and poured it's contents onto the cloth.

"And I'm sure _this_ will accomplish just that!" she shouted, pressing the cloth firmly over Fluey's nose and mouth. Fluey let out a scream, and fought against it, but he knew it was futile.

_Chloroform one, Impossible zip_, he thought, just before he lost consciousness.

Phyllis smirked. She lifted the amulet, and aimed it at Fluey. A strange glow surrounded him, and he levitated off the slab slightly. Then she picked up the dagger, raised it above her head, and was about to bring it down into Fluey's chest when the door burst open.

"HOLD IT!" Coiley screamed at the top of his lungs. He and Multi had transformed on the way to Phyllis's hideout, so they were ready for action. Coiley stretched his arm forward, and grabbed the dagger.

"What are you doing here?!" Phyllis shouted, as Coiley yanked the dagger out of her hand.

"Stopping you!" Multi shouted. "Come on, Phyllis, take off that amulet! It's too dangerous!"

"I'll tell you what's dangerous!" Phyllis shouted, holding up the amulet. "Messing with _me_!"

A streak of lightning came out of the moonstone, and knocked the two Impossibles off their feet, but they weren't licked yet. Coiley stretched both arms forward, and grabbed the amulet, trying to pull it off Phyllis's neck.

"I'll take that!" he shouted.

"Oh no you won't!" Phyllis yelled, blasting at Coiley with her finger. She managed to get him to let go. Once she was out of his grip, she picked up her dagger, and walked over to Fluey. Before she could get anywhere with the sacrifice, she was suddenly knocked to the ground, flat on her stomach. Skittles had slammed into her back, and knocked her over. Now she was trying to undo the necklace's clasp by chewing on it.

"Get off of me, you little runt!" Phyllis shouted, grabbing the little puppy around the neck, and began strangling her.

"I hate to do this, chief, but I don't have much choice," Multi said.

"Do what you have to do, Multi," Big D said. He knew what was coming.

"Rally ho!" Multi shouted, duplicating forward to increase his speed. Once he got close enough to Phyllis, he gave her a good, hard sock in the jaw. Phyllis screamed, and fell backwards, ultimately letting go if Skittles. Under normal circumstances, Big D would not have allowed Multi (or any agent, for that matter) strike a woman, but this was not a normal circumstance, and there was very little choice. The boys had to forget any moral codes if they wanted to get that amulet off Phyllis.

"Why you . . . ." Phyllis shouted, and she blasted Multi straight into the wall with her amulet, knocking the red haired Impossible out cold. Then she turned to Coiley, and thrust her hand forward. Several knives appeared from out of nowhere, and flung themselves right at him. He managed to dodge them, but it still wasn't any good. Coiley found himself pinned to the wall by the knives.

"Shattering shish kebabs!" he shouted.

"Now if there are no more interruptions," Phyllis said, picking up her dagger. She held it up, and was about to plunge it right into Fluey's chest.

"Wait just one moment, young lady!" Big D shouted. "I have something for you."

"And what's that?" Phyllis asked, turning toward Big D and glaring at him.

Without a word, Big D pulled out a pistol and fired it directly at Phyllis. She let out a piercing scream and fell to the ground, flat on her rear end. Multi had come to in time to see it, and both he and Coiley were completely flabbergasted.

"Chief!" Coiley shouted. "I . . . . I can't believe you'd . . . . ."

"Wait, Coiley!" Multi shouted. "Look!"

Coiley dared to look. There was Phyllis, sitting on the floor, breathing heavily, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. The amulet was off her neck, and laying on the floor, with a huge crack in the moonstone. Immediately, a glowing green light came out of the amulet, surrounding itself around Fluey, and began merging into his body. Once the glow subsided, he fell onto the slab. The sudden landing jarred him from his chloroform induced sleep.

"Ooooh, my aching head!" he shouted.

"Are you all right?" Big D asked, coming over. He used Phyllis's dagger to cut the ropes binding his grandson.

"Yeah, I think so, chief," Fluey said. "With the exception of this headache!"

Multi and Sanjay (who had been hiding by the staircase while all this was going on, not wanting to be a part of it) pulled the knives out of the wall to free Coiley, and the three of them ran over to Phyllis.

"Phyllis?" Multi asked, cautiously. "Are you all right?"

"I . . . . . I . . . . I don't know," Phyllis said, nervously. Then she looked down at the amulet, picked it up, and just stared at it. Then she looked over at Big D and Fluey, and realized what she came dangerously close to doing, along with realizing what she had been doing while wearing that amulet.

"What have I done?" she asked. "What have I _done_?!"

"Put me back on!" Maldour said. "We have to finish what you've started! Even though my moonstone's cracked, I can still take over the world!"

"No! Never!" Phyllis yelled. "Never again! I almost killed my brother because of you!"

"No, wait, stop!" Maldour shouted, and Phyllis threw the amulet into the wall as hard as she possible could. The moonstone shattered upon impact. A loud screech was heard, and black smoke came out of the shards of the moonstone, and evaporated shortly afterward. All that was left of Maldour's necklace was the chain, the setting, and bits and pieces of the stone scattered around the room.

Phyllis then looked over at Fluey and walked over to him. Then she suddenly burst into tears, grabbed her half-brother, and held him tightly.

"I'm so sorry!" she shouted. "I am so, so, _so_ sorry!"

"Hey, ease up a little, Sis, I can't breathe!" Fluey shouted. Phyllis loosened her grip, but she didn't let go completely.

"I didn't mean it, Fluey, I _really_ never meant to . . . . ." she said. "I don't know _why_ I . . . . ooooh, if I hadn't opened that box in the first place . . . . ."

"Phyllis, it's _okay_," Fluey said. "Chill out a little. You were tricked."

"But what I did to the city, and to headquarters, and to Mike . . . . ." Phyllis said.

"Look, when the amulet got smashed, I got my strength back after you took it," Fluey said. "I have a hunch that everything you've done with that stupid rock has been undone. Come on. Let's go take a look."

Fluey took his sister's hand, and led her up the stairs. The others followed her. Sure enough, everything was restored to normal, and it was like nothing had happened.

"It is a miracle!" Sanjay shouted. "I am glad your city was spared from the wrath of the moonstone. I am afraid it is too late for my family, though. Even though the moonstone is destroyed, a person who has lost their life to the moonstone can not be restored. Death is quite permanent."

"Yes," Big D said, clearing his throat. "Now, I suggest we all head for home. It has been a long couple of days, not to mention a very trying time for all of us."

"Yeah man!" Fluey shouted. "I could do with a little R and R!"

The others agreed, and started for their underground shelter so they could inform Reggie, Dr. Phelps, and Coiley and Multi's families that the moonstone had been destroyed, and everything was on it's way to going back to normal.


	9. Freedom

"So all's well that ends well, huh, chief?" Fluey asked, as he, Phyllis, and Big D returned home.

"Hmmm," was all Big D said. Fluey and Phyllis could tell he wasn't in the best of moods.

"I mean, we got rid of the moonstone," Fluey said, trying to lighten the mood a bit. "That's the main thing, right? And . . . . and at least no one was killed. Everything went back to normal once we broke that stupid thing, and . . . . ."

"And it wouldn't have even happened if my orders had been followed!" Big D shouted suddenly, causing Fluey to jump a little.

"I know, I know," Phyllis said. "You don't have to rub it in. I feel bad enough already."

"I would have expected _him_ to open the box," Big D said, pointing at Fluey. "Considering his impetuous, impulsive, stubborn, pigheaded behavior . . . . but not you, Phyllis. I am exceedingly and thoroughly dis_gus_ted with you!"

"It was a mistake, and I'm sorry!" Phyllis shouted. "I don't even know _why_ I opened it in the first place. I . . . . I was curious to what it looked like and . . . . ."

"Curiosity killed the cat, my dear girl," Big D said. "Like brother, like sister, that's all I can say. You both get it from your father."

"Hey, chill out a minute, Big D!" Fluey shouted. "She was tricked into opening that box. It just goes to show nobody's perfect. I mean, Sanjay said that thing was tricky, and . . . . ."

Big D shot Fluey a Look, which shut the teenager up before he ended up putting his foot in his mouth. Then, he sighed, and turned to Phyllis, who was twirling her hair, nervously.

"Well?" he asked.

"I just wanted to _look_ at it, that's all," Phyllis said. "He said there was no harm in just looking at it! I didn't think . . . . . ."

"That's right, you _didn't_ think!" Big D shouted. "And because of that, the city was almost destroyed, and you nearly killed not only your own brother, but my chief mechanic as well! Thank goodness Rogers will be all right. I gave you strict orders _not _to open that box! You're fully aware of the consequences of disobeying my orders, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir," Phyllis said, lowering her head. She couldn't even bring herself to _look_ at Big D.

"I'm glad you understand that," Big D said. "As of this minute, young lady, you're suspended from the agency until further notice!"

"Sus_pen_ded?!" Fluey shouted, incredulously. "How can you suspend her, chief? What happened to the Three Strikes You're Out rule? What, does she have two other strikes nobody knows about?"

"No, she doesn't," Big D said.

"Then, why are you suspending her?"

"After what happened, do you honestly _think_ I'm going to let her off lightly?!"

"Well, no . . . . . but I think you're being a little rough on her. Sure, she made a mistake and opened the box, but . . . . ."

"Young man, do you realize that by opening that box, after I _clearly_ told her _not_ to, she caused a great deal of damage to the city? And that you almost lost your life because of it?!"

Fluey didn't say anything. It was pointless to argue with Big D. He had a point about the situation, but Fluey didn't think he was being fair. Big D ended the conversation and went upstairs. He needed a moment to cool off.

"Man, this is so unfair of him!" Fluey shouted. "If you don't have any other strikes against you, why is he suspending you after just _one_ . . . . ."

"Fluey," Phyllis said, interrupting him. "The chief is doing the right thing by suspending me. He gave a direct order not to open the box, and I did, anyway. First strike or not, I deserve to be suspended after what happened."

"But it wasn't your fault! You were possessed! And besides, those two times _I_ disobeyed the chief, all I got was two strikes against me! I think he's flying off the handle a bit. I mean, what's the difference between you disobeying him, and me disobeying him?"

"The two times you disobeyed the chief, you put yourself in danger. You were nearly killed by both Antonio Manikatti and the Maniacal Mechanic. _I_ nearly killed an entire city's worth of people, you included. Big D has no patients whatsoever if someone's disobedience jeopardizes the lives of others. And because you didn't get anyone else involved when you disobeyed the orders, you got off with two strikes. Believe me, Fluey, he's doing the right thing."

"I still think he's . . . . ."

"Fluey, just drop it, okay?!"

Phyllis then stormed up to her room. It had been a long few days, and she was exhausted. Fluey just sighed, and went into the living room to watch TV. That was how he usually unwound.

The next day was a busy one for Big D. He spent nearly all day on the phone with the local police, as well as the mayor of Megatropolis, and the National Guard and the Pentagon as well. He was doing a lot of fast talking to keep them from locking Phyllis in jail and throwing away the key. Mike was back at the office after that fiasco. Luckily for him, he got away from Phyllis's attack with a broken arm, some bumps and bruises, and a few bruised ribs. And even with the broken arm and bruised ribs, he was still at work in the garage.

"I am completely shocked she didn't do anythin' to that car of yours," he said, as he was tightening a bolt on another car.

"Yeah, knowing the Impossi-Mobile's repair history, I'm surprised she didn't smash it, myself," Coiley said.

"I still can't get over the fact Big D suspended her without the whole strike system," Multi said. "I mean, sure, she opened the box against orders, but the whole destruction thing wasn't necessarily her fault."

"I can't get over the fact she was possessed," Mike said. "I thought that stuff only happened in the movies. Go figure."

"Well, I wouldn't worry too much about it," Coiley said. "The good news is nobody was killed, everything went back to normal once the amulet was smashed, and we don't have to worry about that Maldour fella ever again."

The others had to agree on that one. While the Impossibles were hanging out in Mike's garage, and while Big D was on the phone, Danalleah had gone downtown to the butcher's, and then made a trip to the city pound.

"Hello, Mother," she said, walking up to her mother's cage.

"Well, look what the rat dragged in," Cronella said. "I've been watching the news, so I know what happened. Though I would've bet money it'd be your boyfriend to open that box."

"So has everybody else. But it's all over. Look, I brought you a present. Salmon filet."

"What's the occasion? Do you want something from me?"

"No, I just wanted to thank you. Even though the box _did_ get opened, you told me to warn Fluey about it."

"Like I said, I wouldn't wish something like that on my worst enemy!"

Cronella said nothing more, and began chowing down on the salmon. Being a cat, it was her instinct to devour raw fish.

"So," she said, with her mouth full. "You said it was all over. You got rid of that thing?"

"Yes, Mother. I wasn't there, though. Fluey told me all about it. We don't have to worry about the moonstone ever again."

"Good, good. How did they do it?"

"Well, Fluey said first Big D shot it with a gun, which cracked it, and that seemed to release Phyllis from Mal . . . . . umm, the moonstone's power. Then she took the moonstone off, and threw it against the wall. Fluey said it smashed to pieces after that."

Cronella suddenly choked on her salmon, and turned to look at Danalleah, wide-eyed with shock.

"They _broke_ it?!" she shouted. "You're telling me they _broke_ it?!"

"Yeah, smashed to smithereens," Danalleah said. "Why?"

"YOU IDIOT!" Cronella yelled, and she reached a paw out of her cage in an attempt to scratch Danalleah's eyes out. "YOU STUPID, BRAINLESS, BUBBLEHEADED, LAMEBRAINED, DUNDERHEADED, MORONIC, SIMPLE MINDED . . . . . ."

"Mother, what's the matter?!" Danalleah shouted, backing away from the cage as fast as she could.

"They _broke_ the moonstone, that's what's the matter!" Cronella shouted.

"Well, what's wrong with that? Didn't you _want_ us to destroy the moonstone?"

"But not by _breaking_ it! That'll only cause that monster's spirit to get out and assume his human shape!"

"You're kidding, Mother!"

"Do I _look_ like I'm kidding?! And what's worse, he can assume _any_ shape!"

"Well, how do we know if he got out of that moonstone? Could there be a chance he didn't?"

"Well . . . . . yes, there _is_ a chance. Though it's a very slim chance."

"All right, Mother. Thanks!"

And with that, Danalleah left the pound. She had to tell Fluey what she found out right away. Cronella knew what she was up to, and sighed.

"That girl's going in way over her head," she said. "Not even those impossible Impossibles can take on Maldour! If they can't take him on when he's possessed someone, what makes them think they can take on him in person, even if he _did_ get out of that thing? Oh well. It's not my problem."

And with that, Cronella went back to her salmon.

Danalleah went back to HQ as fast as she possibly could. She found Fluey in the mailroom, going through some of the singing Impossibles' fan mail.

"Fluey, I just talked to Mother," she said. "There's a slight . . . . . issue with the moonstone."

"What about it?" Fluey asked.

"She said since you guys broke it, there's a chance Maldour might've gotten out."

"What?!"

"But she also said there's a very slim chance that he didn't get out, too."

"Well, how do we know if he got out or not?"

"We don't. Mother said he can assume any shape he wants to."

"Oh boy . . . . . we'd better tell Big D!"

And with that, Fluey and Danalleah raced to the elevator and went up to the top floor. They immediately told the chief this new information.

"Do you honestly expect me to believe _that_?" he asked.

"Mother wasn't kidding, Big D," Danalleah said. "I think she would know more about this stuff than any of us."

"I realize that, Miss Critch," Big D said. "However, you happen to be standing next to someone who is addicted to late night horror movies, and the story you two just gave me sounds like the plot to one of those said movies. As a matter of fact, this whole fiasco sounds like one of those late night horror movies of yours, Fluid."

"Yeah?" Fluey asked, giving the chief a Look. "And just how do we know you're not Maldour disguised as Big D? After all, Dani said Maldour can take on any shape he wants. It's likely you _could _have shape shifted into Big D to fool us."

"Don't push it, young man," Big D said, sounding annoyed. Fluey just nodded. He knew it was _def_initely Big D. Nobody but Big D ever called him "young man" in _that_ tone.

"Can't we take some precautions or something?" Danalleah asked.

"I don't see the need to," Big D said. "As you said your mother stated, Miss Critch, there _is_ a chance he _didn't_ get out of the moonstone. I think we would have heard something if he _had _gotten out of that thing."

"I guess so," Fluey said. "But I'm not convinced."

"Just keep your eyes open, then," Big D said. "I'll inform the rest of the agency."

That was about all that could be done at this point.

Things were pretty quiet around town for the rest of the day. Coiley and Multi found out about this new information, and they were immediately on their guard.

"Shapeshifters are tricky," Danalleah warned them. "They could be anywhere or anything!"

"Or any_one_," Multi pointed out.

"Maybe we'll get lucky and find out he _didn't_ get out of that thing," Coiley said.

"The way our luck runs, Coiley, I don't think so," Fluey said. "He could just be biding his time, you know."

"That's a good point," Multi said. Then he checked his watch. "It's getting late. I say we all go home and get a good night's sleep. We'll pick up the watch and search tomorrow."

Fluey and Coiley agreed, and the boys began heading for their own homes. As they were walking, the sky suddenly started to cloud over. Skittles looked up, and whimpered, but the boys didn't seem to notice. Something wasn't right to the little puppy, but she couldn't figure out what it was.

It was about midnight when a cloud of black mist approached the Dawson household. It slipped inside through Fluey's bedroom window, even though it was closed. Fluey was asleep, but he woke up, feeling like he was being watched. He reached over toward his nightstand to turn on the light, but before he could reach it, a hand clamped over his mouth. Startled, Fluey screamed.

"Not one sound," a strange, raspy voice warned him. "We wouldn't want to disturb your grandfather and your sister, now would we?"

Fluey could feel someone wrap their arms around his chest. He immediately began struggling, but this stranger had a vice-like grip. While struggling, Fluey noticed the window was mysteriously opening by itself. He gasped, and let out another scream, trying desperately to get this character's hand off his mouth. As he was being pulled towards the window, fighting against this unknown foe, Fluey managed to kick the lamp off the nightstand, causing it to hit the floor with a loud CRASH! The noise woke up both Big D and Phyllis, and they both ran to Fluey's room.

"Fluey, are you all right?" Phyllis asked, opening the door. "I heard a crash and . . . . ."

Phyllis stopped in mid sentence and gasped loudly. Big D arrived on the scene, and just stared.

"What in the world?" he said. Standing by the window, holding Fluey in an iron grip, was what looked like a shadow creature of some kind. It laughed sinisterly, and increased his grip.

"Stay right where you two are," it hissed. "No sudden moves. If you wish the boy to remain healthy, then don't move from that spot until I've gone."

The shadow creature laughed, and flew out the window, taking Fluey with him. Fluey continued struggling. It was about all he could do, but the shadow creature just kept tightening its grip on Fluey. Suddenly, they both disappeared into what looked like thin air. Right away, Phyllis knew exactly what had happened.

"Maldour," she said, nervously. "He . . . . . he got out."


	10. The Team Up

Big D immediately ran down to the basement, and turned on the radio equipment he had hooked up there. He had to call the other two Impossibles right away. He informed them to come over to his house right away. He would explain everything once they got there. He also called Danalleah, and told her to come over as well. Once they arrived (all of them a bit tired, considering it was after midnight), Big D explained the situation.

"As it turns out, Miss Critch, your mother was right about that spirit getting out of the amulet," he said.

"So I guess that small chance he wouldn't just got smaller, huh, chief?" Coiley said.

"Indeed," Big D nodded.

"I don't understand it, though," Multi said. "Why did he go after Fluey?"

"I guess that's what we have to figure out," Coiley said.

"But where are we going to _find_ him?" Phyllis asked. "They just disappeared into thin air."

Before anyone could say anything, the phone rang suddenly. Big D walked over and picked it up.

"Yes?" he said. There was a pause, and then, Big D let out a frustrated groan. "All right. I'll get on it."

"What was that?" Multi asked.

"The city pound," Big D sighed, hanging up the phone. "Cronella Critch escaped. Again."

"Mother's relentless, I'll tell you that," Danalleah said.

"This is about the last thing I need right now," Big D sighed. "First, my granddaughter ends up possessed by an evil spirit. Then, the evil spirit escapes and kidnaps my grandson. Now, that tricky witch turned cat has escaped. What _else_ could _poss_ibly go wrong?!"

All of a sudden, the group heard tapping. Skittles began barking, and she did her pointer routine (_poing_) pointing at the window. Multi looked, and saw an abnormally large black cat sitting on the window sill, tapping at it with her claw.

"Frantic felines!" he shouted. "It's Cronella!"

"What?!" Big D shouted, and Danalleah went over to open the window.

"Mother, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I kept thinking about that stupid moonstone," Cronella said. "I know that warlock got out."

"How do you know?" Coiley asked.

"Animals have a sense about these things," Cronella said. "I'm sure even that puppy of yours could tell he's lurking around! Or at least he _was_ lurking around."

"Mother, I don't think now is a very good time," Danalleah said. "We're facing a crisis."

"What kind of crisis?" Cronella asked.

"We're one Impossible short," Phyllis commented. "And I'm pretty sure it's Maldour's doing."

Cronella tensed a bit upon hearing Maldour's name, but she controlled herself.

"Well . . . ." she said. Then she growled, and turned to Phyllis. "You know this is all your fault! If you hadn't smashed that amulet . . . . ."

"Well, how were we supposed to know that would release Maldour?" Coiley asked.

"Excuses, excuses," Cronella said. "I don't have the slightest idea what that warlock wants with Fluid Man. He doesn't have any reason to go after him. Unless it's a plot for revenge, but even then, he'd be after the blond typewriter jockey here, since she was the one who put on the amulet."

"Do you think he might be using Fluey as bait?" Multi asked.

"That's a possibility," Cronella said. "I wouldn't put it past him."

"How do you know so much about this guy and his amulet, anyway, Cronella?" Coiley asked.

"I was one of it's victims," Cronella said. "It happened fourteen years ago, and it was the worst experience of my entire life!"

"Mother, _you_ were a victim of the amulet?" Danalleah asked, like she couldn't believe it.

"You're kidding!" Coiley shouted.

"I'm completely serious," Cronella said, then she pointed at Danalleah. "Where do you think _she_ came from?! You think I'd spend a night alone with Count Dracula out of my own free will?! You think I _wanted_ to have a kid?! You think I _wanted_ to be a mother?! That was Maldour's revenge on me after I tried to destroy the amulet!"

"We've got to find him before he does something awful to Fluey!" Danalleah shouted.

"Don't worry, Danalleah," Multi said. "We'll find him, or we'll die trying."

"That's pretty much a guarantee," Cronella said. "There is no way in the world even you Impossibles can take on Maldour, especially now that he's _out_ of the amulet."

"So . . . . what do you suggest?" Coiley asked.

"As much as I hate to say it," Cronella said. "We're going to have to team up."

"Team up?" Coiley asked. "With one of our worst enemies?"

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Multi said. "What if it's a trick?"

"Do you want to rescue your buddy, or not?" Cronella asked, impatiently. "Besides you don't even know where he is, and I have a hunch I do."

"Give us a couple of minutes to talk this over," Coiley said, and he, Multi, Phyllis, Danalleah, and Big D got into a huddle.

"I don't like this," Phyllis said.

"Neither do the rest of us," Multi said. "We all know how tricky Cronella is. She may be working for Maldour."

"I don't know," Danalleah said. "She seemed pretty freaked out when I mentioned him the first time."

"It could be a cover," Coiley pointed out.

"Boys, we don't have a choice," Big D said. "I don't like it anymore than the rest of you, but the fact of the matter is, if you couldn't take on Maldour in the amulet, you can't possibly take him on when he's _out_ of the amulet. And judging by what Phyllis had done while she was wearing it . . . ."

"Yeah, Fluey may be in a situation even _he_ can't get out of," Coiley said. The others agreed. "Looks like we don't have a choice."

"Okay, Cronella," Multi said. "We don't like the idea any more than you do, but circumstances being what they are, we have no choice but to trust you. So where do you think Maldour took Fluey?"

"Ten to one, he's in Menrovia," Cronella said. "That's his base of operation. We can't get to it from here like he did. We're going to have to cross the Fifth Dimension to get there."

"Fifth Dimension?" Coiley asked, with a laugh. "What, is that in the Age of Aquarius?"

"Coiley, that's not funny," Phyllis said.

"Sorry," Coiley said. "But how do we get to the Fifth Dimension and Menrovia?"

"Follow me," Cronella said, and she started to leave. Multi, Coiley, and Skittles followed her. Phyllis and Danalleah went running after them.

"Wait for me!" Danalleah shouted. "I'm coming too!"

"I don't know if that's such a good . . . ." Coiley started.

"No, we might need her," Cronella said. "I don't have my magic anymore, and hers might come in handy. Whatever little she even has in her system."

"I'm going with you guys as well," Phyllis said. "I got us into this mess, and I'm going to get us out of it."

"What about you, Big D?" Multi asked.

"No, I'm staying here," Big D said. "I honestly don't think I can handle this one. Good luck, and be careful!"

"Don't worry, Big D, we will!" Coiley shouted, and the group was off for the Fifth Dimension.

In the meantime, the shadow creature had arrived in Menrovia. This place was the definition of creepy. The sky was clouded over with red clouds, all the trees were bare, and the branches looked like hands, just waiting to reach out and grab you. Many a mythical creature dwelled in the forests, few good, most bad. All of Menrovia had an evil presence. Fluey was still trying to pull away from this creature.

"Now just relax," the creature said. "We wouldn't want to fall from way up here, now would we? I'll let you go once we get to the castle."

The castle was at the edge of the forest, made entirely of black stone. There was a large moat surrounding it, filled with murky, dark red water, and guard sharks. Fluey gulped when he saw several dorsal fins circling around.

"Poor things," the shadow said. "They haven't been fed in centuries. Heh, heh, heh."

Fluey looked up at the creature, and glared at him. Finally, he flew into a window, and dropped Fluey on the black marble floor.

THUD!

Fluey groaned, and sat up, holding his hand to his forehead for a moment. He felt a little dizzy. The shadow creature flew in front of him, and suddenly swirl into a tornado then. Fading into the tornado was a human skeleton. Fluey thought he was going to lose his lunch in a minute. Slowly the skeleton filled out a little, forming into a medieval type wizard, wearing a blood red cloak, a blood red sorcerer's pointed hat (complete with the stars and moon design on it). He had long white hair, and a long white beard, but his expression was pure evil.

"Wh . . . . .who are you?" Fluey asked, nervously.

"I'm Maldour, of course," the wizard said. His voice was now deep and ominous, and it sent chills up Fluey's spine. "Welcome to Menrovia."

"Some welcome," Fluey grumbled. "Why did you bring me here, anyway?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out, Anthony," Maldour said.

"_What_ did you just call me?!" Fluey shouted. "How did you know my . . . . ."

"I know everything, Anthony. I know everything there is to know about everything. For instance, your birth name is Anthony Manikatti, but you hate to be referred to as that, considering you grew up as Franklin McAlister . . . . . your adopted parents were killed when you were three, your birth father, Jack Dawson, was murdered by the Syndicate before you were born, your birth mother left you on the steps of the orphanage, your grandfather is the chief of the Secret Security Headquarters, you possess superpowers, but you are unable to access them unless you have your transformer . . . . precisely why I took the liberty of coming to get you in the middle of the night . . . . . you have a girlfriend who's part witch and part vampire, and she's also the daughter of Cronella Critch, the old hack . . . . . and I know your deepest, darkest secrets. I know your fears."

"No way! I'm not afraid of anyone, or anything!"

"Deny it all you want, Anthony. But we both know you have your share of fears. I know you're afraid right now. You're afraid of me, and what I might do to you."

"What _are _you gonna do to me?"

"I'm not quite sure yet. There's a myriad of possibilities. There's the rack, the iron maiden, the Chinese water torture, the sharks in the moat . . . . . the possibilities are endless. It will require a little thought."

"Yeah? Well, you think about it. I'm outta here!"

Fluey then raced for the door. Maldour just yawned, and waved his hand, slamming the door shut magically, and locking it. Fluey skidded to a halt before he could crash directly into it. Maldour walked over, grabbed Fluey's arms, and led him over to a chair in the room, practically throwing him into it.

"Don't even think about escaping," he said, snapping his fingers. Stiff, leather straps appeared from out of nowhere, and fastened themselves around Fluey's wrists, securing his arms to the armrests of the chair. Another strap fastened itself over Fluey's chest, and another around his ankles. They were buckled so tightly, Fluey could barely move.

"Just what _are_ you planning, anyway?!" he shouted, glaring at the wizard.

"You'll see when the time's right, my boy," Maldour said. "But in the meantime, just sit back and relax. You're going to be here for quite some time."

Fluey glared at the wizard, and writhed around, trying to get free. Maldour just sat on his throne and laughed at his attempts.

Meanwhile, Cronella had led Coiley, Multi, Skittles, Phyllis, and Danalleah to a secret doorway in the floor of her old haunted gingerbread cottage.

"This is the doorway to the Fifth Dimension," she said, opening it, revealing a flight of stairs. "Let's go."

The group went down the stairs and suddenly found themselves in a hallway, filled with doors.

"This is the Fifth Dimension?" Coiley asked.

"That's right," Cronella said.

"It's not what I expected," Coiley said. "I was expecting it to be . . . . you know . . . . really weird, like abstract paintings and melting watches and like that."

"Yeah, well, check this out," Multi said, opening a door. Inside was a field filled with melting watches (a la Salvador Dali).

"I'm still not convinced this is the Fifth Dimension," Coiley said. He opened another door, and five musical notes with faces came out of it, and flew across the hallway.

"This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius!" they sang in squeaky voices. "Age of Aquariuuuuuuuus!"

"Now I'm convinced," Coiley said.

"Yeah, if _that_ isn't Fifth Dimension, I don't know what is!" Phyllis shouted.

"Come on," Cronella said. "We've got a lot of work to do."

The group continued down the hallway, opening doors as they went. And some of the doors even opened by themselves, and objects flew out of them and into the doors across the hallway. Things like trains, large high heeled shoes, oranges, bananas, you name it, it was there. Coiley opened one of the doors, and a big pair of red lips came flying out, and they ended up giving Coiley a big, wet kiss before it disappeared through a door across the hall.

"Yeeeccchhh!" Coiley shouted.

"This is the weirdest place I've ever seen," Multi said. He opened another door, and a fleet of bats flew out of it.

"Yikes!" he shouted, as he and the others ducked to avoid them.

"What was that?!" Phyllis shouted.

"Must've been the Bat Room," Coiley said. Everyone groaned at the bad pun.

"Leave the bad jokes to Fluey if you don't mind, Coiley," Phyllis said.

"Come on, we're on the right track," Cronella said. "When things start getting creepy, it means we're getting close."

Danalleah opened another door, and found a rattlesnake the size of Godzilla behind it. She screamed and slammed it shut immediately.

"I hope we find that place soon," she said. "This place gives me the creeps!"

"Hold it a minute," Cronella said. "Here it is. The door to Menrovia."

The others looked, and immediately became nervous. The door was large, made of wood, and glowing red. Multi took hold of the iron ring, and pulled. The door slowly creaked open.

"Somebody needs to oil those hinges," Phyllis said.

Once Multi got the door open, the group walked through it, finding themselves in the creepy forests of Menrovia. There was no turning back now.


	11. Welcome To Your Nightmare

The group just stood there, not knowing what to think. They all knew Menrovia was downright creepy. As they were looking around, someone else was looking, too. Maldour was watching them through a viewing pool.

"Looks like your friends have come to rescue you," he said. "Heh. I'd like to see them try."

"Never underestimate the Impossibles, Maldour," Fluey said.

"Interesting team they have. Your sister and your girlfriend are with them. As well as your dog . . . . . and Cronella Critch herself. In a cat suit, of course."

"Cronella? What's _she_ doing here? Obviously it's some kinda trick. You and her are working together, aren't you?"

"Me? Work with _that_ old spinster? Are you out of your head?! Sure, she was an old pawn of mine . . . . . just like your sister. She, too, tried to destroy the amulet. But I got her back. I got my revenge on her. Where do you think your pretty little girlfriend came from? Heh, heh. I think I'll enjoy playing with your little friends. Oh this is going to be a scream!"

"Leave the bad puns to me, Maldour. And what are you going to do to my friends?"

"You'll see, Anthony. You'll see."

Maldour laughed, and continued to watch Coiley, Multi, and the others through his viewing pool. The group was wandering around the forest, nervously.

"This place gives me the creeps," Multi said. Skittles whimpered in agreement.

"What's missing is the creepy, evil laughter," Coiley said. And, as if that were some sort of cue, the group heard someone laughing.

"What's the matter?" an echoing, deep, ominous voice asked. "Scared? The fun has just begun! This is the world of your nightmares!"

"I don't like the sound of that," Multi said, looking around, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. He couldn't find a trace of anyone, or anything. All he and the others heard was maniacal laughter taunting them.

"You boys think you're so tough," the voice said. "We'll just see about that!"

"That's gotta be Maldour," Coiley said. "Listen up, Maldour! We're not afraid of you!"

"You should be, Calvin! Come and find your little friend, if you dare!"

"How does he know my real name?" Coiley asked.

Before anyone could answer, a light appeared right in front of the group, nearly blinding them. When it subsided, there was a vision of Fluey. His wrists and ankles were locked in heavy iron chains.

"Help me, you guys," he said, throwing his friends the most pitiful look you can imagine.

Danalleah gasped and reached out to touch Fluey, but the minute her fingers got close, the image disappeared. Maldour laughed once more, and it was really starting to get on Coiley's nerves.

"Okay, buster, what did you do with Fluey?" he asked.

"That's the whole key, children," Maldour said, all without showing himself. "It's up to you to find out. We'll see how tough you really are!"

Multi clenched his fists so hard, his knuckles turned white. Coiley glared, and gnashed his teeth. Maldour was really starting to make them angry. But that wasn't going to stop them. They were determined to get past Maldour and rescue their team mate. They weren't going to let Maldour's taunts scare them. Phyllis and Danalleah, though slightly nervous, weren't going to let Maldour get to them, either.

"We're not afraid of anything you can create, Maldour," Coiley said. "Do your worst!"

"Oh, I intend to," Maldour said. "Have fun in my forest. And watch out for bugs."

Without a word, the group walked on through the forest. Back at the castle, Maldour laughed, and waved his hands over his viewing pool.

"This should keep them busy for awhile," he said, smirking. Then he glanced over at his captive. The image of Fluey the group had seen was nothing more than a holographic projection. Fluey was still strapped to the chair, and Maldour had gagged him to prevent him from yelling out to warn his friends of the upcoming danger. Fluey glared at the wizard, and continued writhing about, trying to get loose. Maldour just laughed, and slowly clenched his fists, tightening the leather straps.

"Struggle all you want, Anthony," Maldour said. "You'll never get free. You might as well just relax. You're only going to wear yourself out."

Maldour laughed, and sat down on his throne, watching Coiley, Multi, and the others through his viewing pool, ass they were walking were walking across the forest.

"Watch out for bugs, my friends," he laughed.

The came across a bug, all right. A giant, twenty-foot beetle.

"Suffering sprayguns!" Multi said, looking at the beetle.

"Oh my goodness!" Danalleah gasped.

"This must be what Maldour meant when he said to watch out for bugs," Coiley said, then he turned to the beetle. "Do you know 'Yellow Submarine'?"

The beetle hissed, and began walking towards the group. Skittles began to whimper nervously.

"What do we do?!" Phyllis shouted.

"We need some magic," Cronella said. "So make yourself useful, Danalleah! Show us if anything that wacky Winsome Witch taught you will do us any good!"

"Magic don't fail me now," Danalleah said. She snapped her fingers and a sword appeared in her hands.

"That'll do," Cronella said.

"But I don't know how to use a sword!" Danalleah shouted.

"I'll take it," Multi said. Then he pulled his transformer out of his pocket, and activated it. In a swirl of red and black, he transformed to his superhero alter ego.

"Rally ho!" he shouted, duplicating himself upward, just as the beetle swiped one of it's legs at him. Multi waved the sword, and sliced the leg right off.

"How do you like them apples?" he asked, smugly.

Multi's smugness didn't last long. He just realized he only hacked off one leg. This thing had five left! It hissed, and started to come after the group.

"Uh oh," he said. "RUN!"

The group began running as fast as they could. The beetle was in hot pursuit of them. Phyllis spotted a tree in the distance.

"Quick! Everybody up the tree!" she shouted. She and began climbing it, hoping to escape the beetle.

"Okay, we're up," Coiley said. "Now what?"

The beetle was much too big to climb the tree, but he could still swipe at them with his legs. Multi sighed, and just started chopping the legs off with the sword.

"I can tell Maldour won't make this easy for us," he said. When the beetle was out of limbs, it stopped. It looked up at the group, and hissed.

"What's the matter, buster?" Coiley asked. "Tiring out? Time to end this, Multi!"

Multi nodded, and jumped from the branch he was standing on, using his duplicates, letting the beetle take a good shot at him with the stub of it's leg. Unfortunately for it, Multi's jump was much too high, and the beetle fell over backwards. It landed on it's back, and couldn't get up. Multi smiled, and climbed onto the beetle's stomach.

"Nice try, fella," he said, plunging the sword into the beetle. When Multi pulled his sword out, the beetle promptly turned to stone.

"What the . . . ." he said, staring at the beetle.

"I forgot to mention," Maldour's voice said from the sky. "When a creature dies here in this world, they turn to stone."

"Somehow, that concept doesn't surprise me," Phyllis said, as she and the others began climbing down from the tree.

"Well, then, this should," Maldour said. "You and your calvary had better hurry, Phyllis, before your baby brother meets the same fate as my beetle."

"You wouldn't!" Multi shouted.

"Try me, Mark!"

"What does he think this is?" Multi asked. "Some kind of game?!"

"Well, I'll tell him something," Phyllis growled. "If he thinks this is supposed to be fun, it isn't!"

"Come on," Cronella said. "This isn't even _half_ over. We've got a lot of ground to cover, and there are more dangers ahead. Who knows what else he's going to throw at us!"

The group continued along with Cronella and Skittles in the lead. Skittles was using her sense of smell to try to track down Fluey, and Cronella knew how to get to the castle. Maldour was watching them, and he laughed.

"Let's see you try your luck with _this_ one!" he shouted.

Maldour waved his hands over his viewing pool, creating some sort of monster. It had the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and a snake's tail. It appeared right before the group.

"Holy holocaust!" Coiley started.

"What in the world is that?!" Phyllis shouted.

The creature opened it's mouth, and a blast of fire shot out of it's mouth. Everyone ducked to avoid it, but the creature was relentless. It kept on breathing fire. Danalleah snapped her fingers and a small book appeared in her hands. She began flipping through the pages quickly.

"What are you doing?!" Cronella shouted.

"Looking this thing up!" Danalleah shouted. "Ah ha! Here it is. That there's a Chimera. She's a Greek myth. Must be one of the dangers you mentioned, Mother."

"Darn right," Cronella said.

"Swell," Multi said. "But the question is what are we gonna do about her?!"

"I have an idea," Danalleah said, snapping her fingers. A bow and arrows appeared in her hands, and Coiley took them, along with his transformer. He pushed the button on it, and in a swirl of purple and white, he transformed to his superhero alter ego. Then he sprang upward with the bow and arrows.

"I hope he knows what he's doing," Phyllis said.

Coiley sprang high above the Chimera, and loaded the arrow onto the bow. He took careful aim, and fired. The Chimera screeched, and began throwing flame everywhere. Coiley dodged it, and loaded another arrow into the bow.

"This should do it!" he shouted, firing the arrow.

The arrow hit the Chimera right in the shoulder. The monster snarled and growled, and finally turned into stone. Coiley landed, and twirled his bow.

"How'd you know what that was, Danalleah?" he asked.

"The Survival Guide to Monsters and Myths," Danalleah said, holding up her book. "Never leave home without it."

"We'll keep that in mind," Multi said, and the group continued on their way.

Maldour wasn't pleased. He looked into his viewing pool, and clenched his fists.

"Curses!" he shouted. "The Chimera was supposed to be three times worse than most monsters! No matter. I have other monsters up my sleeve!"

Maldour waved his hands around, and another large creature appeared before group. This one had nine heads. Nine heads!

"Oh Mylanta . . . . ." Phyllis said, nervously.

"Diabolical double headers!" Multi shouted. "What is it?!"

"Hydra," Danalleah said, looking it up in her book. "Another Greek myth."

"So what do we do?" Phyllis asked.

"Watch your step," Cronella said. "This is gonna be harder than any other monster."

"Can't I just use the sword to lop off it's heads?" Multi asked.

"No, because it'll grow two new heads in it's place," Cronella said. "Don't you know anything about Greek myths?!"

Maldour laughed, looking into his viewing pool. What Cronella had said had intrigued him. He pointed his index finger at a nearby tree branch. It fell, smashing onto two heads of the Hydra. As a result, four heads grew where the two had been separated.

"Oh, that's dis_gust_ing!" Phyllis shouted.

"Do tell," Cronella replied. "Hoo boy."

Danalleah bit her lower lip, and snapped her fingers. A torch appeared in her hand, and Coiley's as well.

"What are we supposed to do with these?" Coiley asked.

"Seal off the necks once Multi cuts the heads!" Danalleah shouted. "That way, they won't be able to sprout!"

"What have we got to lose?" Multi shrugged, and he duplicated upward toward the Hydra. "Rally ho!"

Multi began slicing and dicing at the Hydra. It was disgusting.

"I think I'm gonna be sick!" Phyllis shouted, making a face.

Coiley and Danalleah then took the torches and began burning the necks, so no new heads could pop up. From what Danalleah knew, one head of the Hydra was immortal, so she had to figure out what to do with it. She used her magic to levitate it over to a nearby cave, and blocked the entrance with a huge boulder. Then she sat down, exhausted from the effort.

"Wow," she said, catching her breath. "That was a tough one."

"This is some arsenal Maldour's got," Coiley said. "How does he do it?"

"This is his kingdom, and he has the power to create whatever he wants," Cronella said.

"Very perceptive, Cronella," Maldour said, looking in his pool. You've defeated the Hydra, and the Chimera, but let's see how those Impossibles fare with a Cyclopes!"

Maldour waved his hands, and a giant one-eyed monster appeared. He growled, and beat his chest like Tarzan. The girls screamed, and ran for cover. Coiley and Multi just stood there, staring up at the Cyclopes. The monster then reached down toward the boys, grabbed them, and held them up to his level.

"I can't look!" Danalleah shouted.

"Let me know when it's over!" Phyllis yelled.

"How do we get out of this one?" Multi asked.

"I have an idea," Coiley said, and he reached an arm downward and picked up a large, sharp stick.

"Hey, One Eye Jack!" he shouted. "Here's mud in your eye!"

Coiley threw the stick like a javelin, which he really didn't need to do, since he was already up at eye level with the Cyclopes. The Cyclopes screamed in pain, and tried to pull the stick out of his eye, dropping Coiley and Multi in the process. They used their powers to aid their landings. Then the monster turned to stone.

"You'll have to do better than that, Maldour!" Coiley shouted.

"Drat you, Impossibles," Maldour said. "You and that pretty little witchling are smarter than I thought. No matter, I've got plenty more monsters up my sleeve."

Maldour waved his hands around again, and created the old standard, a dragon. Apparently, the gang was making him nervous, and it was the only thing he could come up with on such short notice.

"Oh brother," Coiley said, and he glanced at Danalleah. "FG's not here, Danalleah. Can you take this?"

"You bet, Coiley!" Danalleah shouted, and she snapped her fingers. A fire extinguisher appeared in her hands. She aimed it at the dragon's mouth, and fired foam at the flame the dragon shot out.

"Take that, furnace breath!" she shouted.

The dragon growled, and tried to shoot fire out of it's mouth, but it was unable to. Multi took the sword, and hurled it right into the dragon's chest. It growled, screeched, and then turned to stone. Multi turned to the others and smiled.

"All clear," he said. "Let's go."

Maldour stopped watching the action for a moment or so. Then he glanced over at Fluey, who had stopped struggling so he could watch the action, and see how his friends would handle what Maldour was throwing at them. He threw Maldour a smug look when he saw that they had beaten all his monsters.

"You think that's funny, eh?" Maldour said to him, walking over. "They haven't won yet, Anthony. You just wait. In any case, it's time I took care of you."

Fluey merely glared at the wizard, and continued struggling. He _had_ to get loose and get out of there, before Maldour had a chance to do anything to his friends. Maldour just sighed, and waved his hands. A small fire and a cauldron appeared in the room, as well as a table full of glass jars, and a pedestal with a large book on it. Fluey got a nervous look on his face as he watched. He didn't know what Maldour was up to, but he knew he didn't like the looks of it.

"Let me see here," Maldour said, opening his book. "Ahhh yes. This one will do quite nicely."

Maldour laughed under his breath, and began taking various jars from his table. He opened them, and began pouring them into the cauldron.

"Fried bat wings, powdered lizard teeth, spider eyebrows," he said, dumping each ingredient into the pot. "Cobwebs, muck, mold, mildew, fungus, swamp water, mud, eye of newt, toe of dog, wool of bat, tongue of dog, dragon scales, root of hemlock, fly's thighs, lizard's gizzards, whale's tails, bee's knees, bear's hairs, eel's heels, snake's knees . . . . . ."

Fluey gave Maldour a weird look after that one. He didn't even know snakes _had_ knees. Or that eels had heels, for that matter!

"Crow's toes, slug slime," Maldour continued. "Black cat fat, gargoyle swet, troll teeth, broom sweepings, three warts from a frog's foot, and a pinch of salt."

Again, Fluey shot Maldour an odd look. That was a weird one. All that spooky stuff, and then a pinch of salt? It didn't make sense to him. Maldour dipped a ladle in his cauldron, scooped up some of the goop, and poured it into a goblet. It was black, and had the consistency of molten tar. Then he walked over to Fluey with it, and removed the gag.

"Drink this," he said. "It will relax you."

"Yeeeccchhhh!" Fluey shouted, turning his head away after getting a whiff of that stuff. "No way am I gonna drink _that_ slop!"

"Now, now, Anthony. Be a good little boy, and take your medicine."

Fluey kept trying to turn away from this stuff, keeping his mouth closed. He didn't know what that stuff was, and he sure as heck didn't _want_ to know. It smelled too terrible, and after hearing what went into it, he had a darn good feeling it would _taste_ terrible.

"Come on, Anthony," Maldour prodded, grabbing hold of Fluey's chin, and forcefully pulling it toward him. "It's good for you."

Fluey didn't respond, and jerked his head away.

"All right, I tried to be nice," Maldour said. "But you just won't cooperate. We're going to have to do this the hard way."

Maldour then pinched Fluey's nose shut, tilted his head back, and poured the contents of the goblet down the teenager's throat. Then he quickly clamped his hand over Fluey's mouth to prevent him from trying to spit that stuff back out. Fluey swallowed, and immediately felt sick.

"Oooohhhh . . . . ." he moaned. "What . . . . what was that . . . . ."

Fluey didn't get very far in his question. His head slumped onto his chest, and he fell asleep. Maldour snapped his fingers, and loosened the straps holding Fluey to the chair. Then he picked up the unconscious teenager, and started carrying him out of the room.

"Enjoy your little nap while you can, Anthony," he said. "Though you're going to be asleep for quite some time, your dreams may not be of the pleasant variety after my special potion kicks in."


	12. The Red Sea and the Lake Monster

Maldour had taken Fluey to the tower, and chained him to the wall by his wrists. Fluey didn't even notice. He was out like a light. Maldour stood there, watching him for a moment or so. Then, Fluey started moaning. Maldour waited to see if he was going to wake up, but Fluey didn't. He moaned again, and this time, he started mumbling in his sleep.

"Too fast . . . . ." he said. "You're going too fast . . . . . stop the car, please, Dad, please, stop . . . . ."

"Ahhh, my potion's kicking in already," Maldour laughed. "My nightmare spell never fails. So pleasant nightmares, Anthony!"

Maldour then left the tower, and went back to his viewing pool to check up on the others. As he watched, he waved his hands over the pool. It was time for some more "fun" with them. As the group was walking around, they had been looking around for any other oversized bugs. But what they should have been looking out for was mountain lions, because one was stalking them at that very moment. Except this was no ordinary mountain lion. It was at least ten times it's normal size, with sharper claws and teeth than a normal mountain lion. It watched the group, sizing up the situation. He didn't think the large cat and the little puppy would provide much sustenance. The two girls looked like they didn't have any meat on them. The taller of the two boys was too skinny for his taste. But the shorter boy was a different story. The mountain lion licked his chops in anticipation of getting his paws on that little butterball.

As the group walked on, Coiley got the sudden feeling that he was being watched. He turned around and looked, but he didn't see anything.

"Hey, did you guys ever get the feeling you were being watched?" he asked.

"All the time in my line of work," Cronella commented.

Coiley didn't respond to that. He just kept going. But he stopped for a moment when he heard rustling in the bushes. The others didn't seem to notice. They just kept on walking. Coiley went to investigate, when the mountain lion jumped out of the brush and pounced on him. Coiley didn't know what the heck hit him! He was too dazed. The mountain lion dragged him through the brush, by the back of his neck. Skittles chose that moment to turn around, and she began barking frantically, drawing the others' attention.

"What's up, girl?" Multi asked. He turned around and saw Coiley being dragged away by a mountain lion, which was practically the size of a mountain.

"Holy cat-tastrophes!" he shouted.

"What do we do?!" Danalleah screamed. She had no idea how to handle _this_ one.

But apparently Skittles did. She revved up, and shot forward, slamming right into the mountain lion's side. The lion growled, and let go of Coiley. Then, it went after Skittles, who was running around, ducking and dodging, driving the oversized cat crazy. Coiley came to his senses a few moments later. Though he was still a bit dazed, he managed to grab a large stick nearby, and began smacking the mountain lion in the head with it.

"Pick on someone your own size!" he shouted.

Coiley smacked the mountain lion with the stick repeatedly, until it ran off. Then he put his hand behind his neck and rubbed. He looked at his hand, and saw the blood. He nearly threw up.

"Eecchhh," he moaned. "I never did like the sight of blood."

"Are you all right, Coiley?" Multi asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Coiley said. "Thanks to Skittles."

"Come on," Phyllis said. "We'd better keep going."

The group kept moving, but stopped when they heard Maldour's maniacal laugher once more.

"I'm getting downright sick of that laugh of yours, Maldour," Cronella said.

"You were fortunate this time," Maldour said. "You might not be next time!"

"And what makes you think they'll _be_ a next time, buster?" Coiley shouted.

"You and your friends have got a lot of spirit, Calvin. I admire that in an adversary."

The group walked on. It was all Danalleah could do not to blast in every direction trying to locate Maldour. That would only cause her to use too much power and wear her out. As the group walked, they kept his eyes open for giant beetles, mountain lions, and whatever else Maldour intended to throw at him while he was trying to find Fluey. They walked along until they reached a cliff. Another step forward, and they would have fallen into a gorge. But there was something interesting about this gorge. There was another cliff right in the middle of it, but this one looked like it was made out of crystal.

"Now what?" Phyllis asked.

"Anyone for bridge?" Multi asked, and he duplicated himself forward, acting as a human bridge. The others crossed over easily, and took a break. Multi was about to bridge the gap to the other side, but before he could, he realized the cliff was moving.

"What the . . . ." he said, looking down. He saw that the cliff was floating in some red liquid. And it definitely wasn't water!

"Ooooohhhh," he moaned. "I hope that stuff isn't what I think it is!"

The others dared to look, and had the same reaction Multi had.

"I hope that's not what you think it is, either, Multi," Phyllis said. "Because I have a pretty good idea what it is!"

"We might as well enjoy the ride," Coiley shrugged, trying not to think about what the contents of the "red river" was.

Multi kept staring at the river. He couldn't help it. It was like the ocean, only red. The waves crashed against the sides of the cliff. But something strange happened. The red waves began to morph into hands. Blood red hands! And they were grabbing at the cliff. The hands seemed to be reaching for the group. As the sea of hands were grabbing at the cliff, it began to float upwards, up far and away from the grabbing hands.

"Oh, that's a relief," Multi said. He sat down on the cliff, and relaxed a little.

The cliff floated into a hole in the sky. The group found themselves in an empty place. It was blue and clear, like the sky. It was a little odd, but they didn't care. They was just glad he was out of that nightmare world he was in earlier. Multi took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Just as soon as he began to relax, he banged his head against something in the sky.

"Ow!" he shouted, rubbing his head. "What the heck is this?"

Multi saw a box hanging in the sky. He duplicated himself upward, and the others used him as a ladder to climb on top of it. Coiley looked down, but all he could see was blue.

"Boy, we're really high up, aren't we?" he asked.

"At least I can relax a little," Danalleah said.

Or so she thought. The minute the group found a second to relax, they heard Maldour's infamous maniacal laughter.

"Not you again!" Cronella groaned.

"Me again!" Maldour laughed.

"I wish you'd show yourself, buster," Coiley said. "You're really starting to get on my nerves."

Maldour laughed hysterically. The box then began to lean a little. It was beginning to stand upright. The minute the box stood upright, the group slid off and fell directly into the red river he encountered earlier.

"Aaaauugggghhhh!" Cronella shrieked, freaking out. "I'm getting out of this river fast!"

"Yeah, I really, really, _really don't_ want to know what I'm swimming in!" Coiley shouted.

The group swam as fast as he could. Skittles dog paddled about, and happened to glance behind her. She saw a lone dorsal fin following the group.

(_insert "Jaws" theme here_)

"YIPE!" she yipped. Her yelp caught Multi's attention, so he turned and saw the dorsal fin himself.

"Hollerin' hi-fi's!" he shouted. "It's a shark!"

"Oh great," Cronella groaned. "As if we didn't have enough trouble swimming in this blood red river."

"I just remembered something," Phyllis said. "Sharks are attracted to blood. And if this river is what I _think_ it is . . . . . ."

"Uh oh . . . . . ." Danalleah said.

"SWIM FOR IT!" Coiley screamed at the top of his lungs.

The group did indeed swam for it as fast as they possibly could, but the dorsal fin was practically on top of them. Danalleah pointed her index finger and zapped the dorsal fin. She didn't expect to kill the darn thing, just scare it off. The little zap would have done the trick, _if_ the owner of the dorsal fin _was_ a shark. It wasn't. The owner of the fin popped out of the water to reveal a large monster with long, razor sharp claws and long razor sharp teeth to match.

"Holy Loch Ness Monsters!" Multi shouted. "Faster, everybody!"

But swimming faster wasn't going to save them. That sea monster was right on top of them, and he was ready for a little snack! The only thing that would help them now would be land, but there wasn't any in sight.

"What I wouldn't give for a island right about now," Phyllis said.

"Your wish is my command, my dear," Maldour said.

From out of nowhere, a piece of land shot up out of the red sea. The group swam directly toward it. The sea monster followed, but once he realized he was on land, he slunk back into the water, and the dorsal fin swam out of sight.

"Close call," Coiley said, catching his breath. "If I never see another dorsal fin again, it'll be too soon."

The others were also slightly relieved, until they looked at the path ahead of him. It was another dark and spooky forest. A crow cawed from inside of it.

"I don't want to go in there," Danalleah said. "I really, really, _really don't_ want to go in there!"

"We don't have any choice," Cronella said. "Come on!"

Danalleah moaned, and followed the others into the forest. It was about all she could do. She and the others kept their eyes out for any giant bugs, lions, and anything else. They didn't want to let their guard down for a minute. As they were walking through this creepy forest, they began to hear tortured screaming coming from further down the path.

"What in the world is that?" Phyllis asked.

"I don't think I want to know," Multi said, gripping the sword. "Maybe it's another one of Maldour's monsters."

"This place is starting to give me a headache," Coiley groaned. "How much farther do we have to go?"

"Just keep walking," Cronella said. "We'll find it sooner or later."

"I hope so," Coiley said. "Because the sooner we get out of this nightmare, the better!"

Suddenly, the group heard some rustling in the bushes, and they stopped. Skittles approached it, sniffing a bit, not sure she wanted to rush into the fray just to see what it was.

"May-maybe it's only the wind," Danalleah said.

"Anyone want to stick around and find out?" Coiley asked.

"Not me, that's for sure!" Multi shouted.

"Let's bolt!" Phyllis shouted, and the group took off, not wanting to stand around and find out what was in those bushes. As he was running, Multi ended up crashing into something, and fell backwards to the ground.

"Ooof!" he shouted.

"Sorry, Multi," a familiar voice said.

"Fluey?" Multi asked, just staring at who he bumped into.

"Who were you expecting?" Fluey asked. "Bugs Bunny?"

"Fluey, I'm so glad to see you!" Danalleah shouted, throwing her arms around the dark haired Impossible and holding him close. "I was so worried about you!"

"Are you okay?" Phyllis asked.

"Yeah, Sis, I'm fine," Fluey said.

"How did you escape from Maldour's castle?" Coiley asked.

"I'll explain later," Fluey said. "Come on. Let's get out of this creep zone. I know the way. Follow me!"

Skittles stared at Fluey and hesitated. She wasn't so sure about this. Something didn't seem right about Fluey. She began growling all of a sudden. The others just looked at her, and then Multi and Coiley exchanged a glance.

"Come on, fellas," Fluey said. "You want to get out of here don't you?"

"Well, yeah," Multi said. "But something just doesn't seem right about this whole thing."

"You worry too much," Fluey said. "I know the way out, so let's go!"

"But . . . . but how _do_ you know the way out?" Danalleah asked.

"Don't tell me Maldour told you," Cronella said, eyeing Fluey suspiciously. "He wouldn't do that. And he wouldn't sit idly by and allow you to escape, either."

"Eh, he was a pushover," Fluey said.

Skittles continued growling directly at Fluey. Multi got the gist of this right away. He gripped the handle of the sword, and held it up. Fluey looked at him, oddly.

"Well come on, fellas," he said. "We don't have all millennium."

"We do," Multi said. "But you don't!"

Without another word, Multi plunged the sword into Fluey's stomach. Fluey screamed, his eyes turned red (whites, irises, and all), and he grew fangs. Multi walked over, and pulled the sword out. "Fluey" promptly turned to stone.

"You'll have to do better than that, Maldour!" he shouted at the sky.

"Uhh, Multi?" Phyllis asked. "Uhhh . . . ."

"That wasn't really Fluey, it was a trick," Multi said. "Maldour probably created a monster to look like Fluey to fool us."

"But how were you able to tell?" Danalleah said. "He was so convincing!"

"Skittles," Multi said, putting the sword down, and picking up his puppy. "Thanks to her sense of smell, she was able to tell the difference easily!"

"Ahhh, I should've known!" Phyllis laughed, as she took Skittles from Multi. "Skittles knows her boys when she smells them!"

The others (save for Cronella) laughed, but the laughter was short lived when they heard another piercing scream echo through the air. Realizing they didn't have much time to spare, they continued on their way to Maldour's castle, with Cronella in the lead.

Maldour had been watching the whole thing through his viewing pool, and he was not amused.

"Drat it!" he shouted. "That mangy little mutt of theirs! I oughta make a hot dog out of her!"

Maldour sat there for a few moments, and glanced over at a large crystal sitting next to his throne. It was throbbing like a beating heart, and with each throb, it glowed a shade of purple. Maldour smiled, as wisps of purple smoke seemed to be flowing into the crystal.

"Let's see how Anthony's doing," he said, and he went back to his viewing pool. He shifted the view to the tower. Fluey was still asleep, but now he was thrashing his head from side to side, violently.

"No . . . . ." he moaned. "Stop . . . . . please, no . . . . don't . . . . ."

Fluey let out a blood curdling shriek, which seemed to echo throughout the castle. Maldour just laughed.

"Scream all you want, Anthony," he said. "It's simply music to my ears."

Maldour snickered, and went back to the others in his viewing pool.

"Now let me see . . . . ." he said. "Where are they now? Ahhhh, yes, yes. The old lake. Heh, heh. This should be a scream."

The lake the rescue team had arrived at was so big, they couldn't see the other side of it. Skittles sniffed around, and backed away from it, growling.

"I'm with you, Skittles," Coiley said. "I don't like the looks of this lake."

"How are we going to get across?" Phyllis asked.

"We turn around and go another way," Cronella said. "After that shark monster in the red sea Maldour threw us in, I've had it with water! Besides, who knows what the heck he's got in there!"

The group turned around and started to go. Before they could get anywhere, they heard a loud whinny, and turned around, expecting to see a horse. It was sort of like a horse. The head and legs at least, but instead of hooves, it had webbed feet, like a duck. It's mane consisted of a fin. The body was horse-like, but it ended in a tail like a fish. The others came back to see what the hold up was, saw the creature, and just gaped.

"What the heck is that?" Coiley asked.

"Off hand, I'd say a freaky looking sea horse," Phyllis said.

"That's exactly what it is," Danalleah replied, checking the book. "A hippocampus."

"A _what_?!" Phyllis shouted.

"A hippocampus," Danalleah said. "It literally means sea horse."

"Is it vicious?" Multi asked.

"I don't know," Danalleah said. "I've never tangled with one before. Mother, are they vicious?"

"You're asking _me_?!" Cronella shouted. That apparently answered _that_ question!

"Let me have the book a minute, Danalleah," Multi said.

The hippocampus just stood there for a minute or so, and then lowered it's head. Multi opened Danalleah's book and looked up the creature.

"Doesn't say much," he said, as the hippocampus dug it's front foot in the ground, ready to charge.

"Uhh, Multi?" Coiley asked.

"All it says is that Poseidon used hippocampi to pull his chariot," Multi continued, ignoring Coiley for the moment. "And that merpeople rode them like we ride horses."

"Hey, Multi?" Coiley said again.

"It doesn't say what to do to get rid of them," Multi replied.

"_Multi_!"

"What, Coiley?"

"Behind you!"

"Huh?"

Before Multi had a chance to look behind him, the hippocampus charged, and hit the red haired Impossible right in the back with it's head. Multi took a couple of steps forward, and just looked at the creature oddly.

"Oh, that's the way you want to play, huh?" he asked. "Well, ride 'em cowboy!"

Multi jumped into the air, and landed on the hippocampus's back. The animal retreated into the water, and acted like a bucking bronco, neighing, snorting, whinnying, trying to throw Multi off his back.

"Yee-haw!" Multi shouted.

"What was he, a rodeo rider in a past life?" Cronella asked.

"Must've been," Phyllis said, quite impressed.

The hippocampus dove underneath the water, in an attempt to drown Multi. But what he didn't know was that, while in superhero form, the Impossibles had the uncanny ability to breathe under water (though they couldn't accomplish that feat when they were in their rock 'n roller personas).

"Nice try," he said. "I don't know whether to make glue out of you or call you the catch of the day!"

The hippocampus snorted, and began bucking like a bronco again, wanting desperately to throw Multi off his back. He finally came up and began bucking around on land again.

"Yah hoo!" Multi shouted.

"How long can he last on that thing?" Phyllis asked.

Finally, the hippocampus started to tire out. He slunk back into the sea. Multi climbed off, and smirked triumphantly.

"Wow, Multi!" Coiley shouted. "That was some major rodeo riding! Not to mention some serious fishing."

"Yeah," Multi said, shaking water out of his hair. "But you should've seen the one that got away."

The others laughed, and started to walk along. Maldour wasn't too happy.

"These Impossibles are more clever than I had anticipated," he growled. "But they'll never reach my castle. I'll see to that!"


	13. Lights Alive

By this time, the group reached the edge of the forest, and saw a large castle, made entirely of black stone.

"That's gotta be it," Phyllis said.

"That's it all right," Cronella said, her fur bristling.

"Now I guess the sixty-four million dollar question is how do we get inside," Multi said.

"Piece of cake," Danalleah said. With a snap of her fingers, the draw bridge came down. Once it was down, the group began walking across it to get inside.

Unfortunately, fate was not with them. A dragon with the head of a rattlesnake popped out of the entrance, blocking it, and then it reached it's neck out and lunged at our heroes.

"Oh no, not again!" the Coiley groaned. "Hey Maldour! Don't you ever quit?!"

All that was heard was Maldour's maniacal laughter. Multi heaved a sigh, and held up his sword. He didn't want to do anymore slicing and dicing. He was getting tired of that. He just wanted to scare the dragon off so he could get inside the castle. It worked. The dragon backed off. Holding the sword high, Multi walked into the castle. He smiled and put the sword down. The minute he did, the dragon began to strike. His head moved like a rattlesnake. Multi raised his sword, and with one lightning quick move, he cut the dragon's head off. Once the head hit the ground, the dragon turned to stone, as did the head. The group ran into the castle as fast as they could, to get away from that snake headed dragon.

"This probably isn't over yet," Cronella warned, as they walked down a dark hallway. "Maldour's just the type to have more monsters hanging around."

The group continued along, but Cronella's hunch was right. They stopped short when he saw a huge, vicious looking rat right in their path. It were bigger than they were! As a matter of fact, it was about as big as a house!

"Rattling rat finks!" Coiley gasped.

"I knew it," Cronella said. "Get to work with that sword, Multi Man."

Multi picked up the sword and sliced the rat in half. Instead of turning to stone, it multiplied into two large rats.

"Ooookay," Multi said, slowly.

Multi held up the sword and began slicing the rats. Each time he sliced, the rats kept dividing, and they grew smaller and smaller. Pretty soon, the floor was covered in rats. They were about the size of normal rats, but that didn't make them feel any better.

"Ick!" Phyllis shouted. "Ooooh, I _hate_ rats!"

"I think you'd better use your magic again, Danalleah," Multi said. "If I keep slicing and dicing, I'll just make more rats."

"Okay, I think I've got it," Danalleah said. "Winnie taught me a spell that gets rid of unwanted pests."

Danalleah closed her eyes, and pointed her index finger. A hole opened in the floor, and all the rats fell through. Danalleah snapped his fingers again, and the hole closed up.

"That's that," she said.

"Good work, Danalleah," Multi said.

"Now where do we go?" Coiley asked.

"This way," Cronella said, leading the group to a nearby flight of stairs. A scream echoed through the castle, and it happened to be coming from the stairway.

"Maldour's probably got him locked in the tower," Cronella said. "He's not very original. Let's go."

The group ran up the stairs and directly to the tower door. Phyllis looked through the key hole and saw Fluey moaning, screaming, and thrashing about.

"Wow, he's really going through something in there," she said.

"How do we open the door?" Danalleah asked.

"Don't look at me," Cronella said. "I already broke my claws busting out of the pound!"

"Anybody got a hair pin?" Multi asked.

"Never leave home without one," Phyllis said, pulling a bobby pin out of her hair.

"Oh please, like _that_ old trick is _ever_ going to . . . . ." Cronella started, but she stopped once Multi opened the tower door.

"Since when do you know how to pick a lock?" she asked, giving Multi a weird look. "Isn't that a criminal's job?"

"I have an older sister who keeps a diary," Multi said, walking into the tower with Phyllis's hair pin. "Put two and two together, and you'll figure it out, Cronella."

Cronella said nothing, and just watched as Multi fiddled with the chains on Fluey's wrists with the hair pin. This one wasn't easy. Fluey kept moving around, moaning, groaning, and occasionally, shrieking like a banshee.

"Take it easy, Fluey, it's us," Multi said.

"No . . . . ." Fluey moaned. "I'll won't do it . . . . never, never, never, _never_!"

"Fluey, relax!" Coiley shouted. "Wake up!"

"Never, do you hear me?!" Fluey yelled. "NEVER!"

Fluey let out another blood curdling shriek. Thankfully, Multi got done unlocking the chains on his wrists. Danalleah ran over to Fluey, and put her hands on his shoulders. Fluey let out another shriek, and thrashed about. Danalleah let go of him and took a couple of steps back before he could smack her.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked, as Fluey suddenly slumped over onto the floor.

"My guess is Maldour's got some kind of spell over him," Cronella said.

"We'd better get him out of here," Coiley said.

The others agreed. Multi and Phyllis (being the tallest of the group) lifted Fluey off the ground, and carried him out of the tower. They had to go down the stairs slowly so they wouldn't accidently drop Fluey, or trip themselves. Once the group was back down the stairs, they began to look for the hallway which they came in.

"I think we took a wrong turn somewhere," Coiley said. Skittles sniffed around, and then pointed (_poing_!)

"Let's go this way," Multi said, indicating the direction his pup was pointing in. They went into a room, and found it was a dead end.

"Nice going," Cronella said, sarcastically. "Some super dog."

"She's just a puppy," Coiley said. "You can't expect her to be perfect!"

Suddenly, the door slammed shut. Coiley bounced over to it, and tried to open it, but it was locked.

"We're trapped!" he shouted.

"Oh dear . . . ." Danalleah moaned.

"Holy dead ends," Multi said.

"I think we're in biiiiiig trouble," Phyllis replied.

"You certainly are," Maldour's voice said. "Let me ask you one thing, children. Do you feel lucky?"

"Oh boy, I know just what's coming, too," Coiley said. "Another one of Maldour's freak shows."

And he was right. A trap door in floor opened, and the group plunged through it, and landed in a sea of spiders. They were up to their ankles in arachnids.

"Ewwww, gross!" Danalleah shouted, twisting her face in disgust.

"Ick, ick, ick!" Phyllis shouted. "Where's the bug spray when you need it?!"

"Use your magic, Danalleah!" Multi shouted.

"Goodness knows what'll happen," Danalleah said. "But it's worth a shot!"

Danalleah pointed her index finger, and began zapping at the spiders. Just as she knew they would, once they were destroyed, they turned into stone.

"Good shooting," Coiley said. "Now let's get outta here."

"Good idea!" Phyllis shouted.

The group started for the door, but nearly fell flat on their faces. They looked down and saw that they were stuck in the stone.

"Uh oh," Danalleah said.

"You bubblehead!" Cronella yelled. "We were up to our ankles in spiders, so when you zapped them, they turned to stone, so now we're up to our ankles in stone, and stuck!"

"Oops," Danalleah said, sheepishly.

The group tried to get themselves out, but it was no use. Fluey was the only one of them not trapped in the stone floor, but he couldn't do much at the moment, since he was still unconscious.

"Can't you use your magic again, Danalleah?" Coiley asked, trying to spring his way out.

"No," Danalleah sighed. "My magic's out."

"Oh what a shame," Maldour said with a laugh.

"I have a feeling this is exactly what Maldour's waiting for," Multi said.

"Darn right, Mills," Maldour said. "Now I only have one dilemma right now. Do I destroy you quickly, or painfully slow?"

Maldour began laughing, and a beam of light shot through the air. Phyllis looked at it oddly.

"What in the world is _that_?" she asked.

"I don't know," Multi said. "This guy's gotta be one brick shy of a full load. But I'm getting a bad feeling about this."

"What can it do?" Coiley asked. "It's just a light. I'll bet our hands'll go right through it."

Coiley reached up towards the light to make his point. Instead, he _got_ the point. Right on his hand. His hand reached the light, and it moved, slicing Coiley's glove.

"Whoa!" he shouted. "I hate to think what would've happened if the edge of that light was at my wrist!"

"It probably would've sliced your hand right off," Multi said, looking at the tear in Coiley's glove. Thank goodness it missed his hand completely!

The light moved again, and this time whipped at the group.

"DUCK!" Multi screamed.

Everyone ducked, just as the light swished over their heads. Phyllis grabbed onto Fluey and held him close, covering him with her body to protect him from that weird light. If they had ducked a second later, the light would have sliced their heads right off. Instead, the light hit the wall, and managed to blast a hole in it. That gave Coiley an idea.

"If we can get that light close enough," he said, "maybe we can get unstuck out of this stone!"

"It's worth a shot," Multi said. "But we gotta be careful that it doesn't slice off any of our appendages."

"I think I have just a enough power to handle it," Danalleah said.

Danalleah waited until the light came back for another round. She bit her lower lip and pointed her index finger at it. The light flew down towards the stone surrounding her feet. The light struck the side of her ankle, which was immediately dislodged from the stone. Danalleah used the light to dislodge his other foot, the others as well.

"Okay, one disaster averted," she said.

"Not yet," Cronella said, looking at the light. "It's coming back!"

"Yipe!" Skittles yipped.

"Let's get outta here!" Multi shouted.

The group began running as fast as they could, trying to outlast the light. It was right behind them, trying to slice them to pieces.

"We can't keep this up!" Coiley shouted.

"I know," Danalleah said. "But there's know way to lose it! Unless . . . ."

Multi skidded to a halt, and the others crashed right into him, looking at him as if he were crazy. The light charged. Danalleah snapped his fingers, knowing that her last attempt at battling the light wouldn't take _too_ much of her magic, little she had left. A water balloon dropped onto the light, and short circuited it. The light faded away in a blaze of sparks.

"How did you do that?" Cronella asked.

"It's all in the wrist," Danalleah said. "Now we'd better get out of here!"

The group ran toward the open drawbridge, and dashed out of the castle, and back into the creepy forest.

"That was easy," Danalleah said.

"_Too_ easy," Cronella replied. "Something's up."

"Forget it," Phyllis said. "Let's just find the door to the Fifth Dimension, and get out of here!"

The group figured that was the best option. But fate had other plans in store for them. As they were searching for the door to the Fifth Dimension, they weren't aware that they were being watched. A screech was suddenly heard from the distance.

"What was that?" Danalleah asked, nervously.

"I hope it's not another monster," Multi said. "I'm getting a little tired of fighting them."

The screeching started getting louder and louder, and there seemed to be more of them. Before anything else could happen, something hit Multi in the back of the head, and landed face first in the dirt.

"Oooof!" he shouted. "What in the world was _that_?"

Everyone looked up, and saw an entire fleet of some very bizarre birds. They had the bodies of birds, but the heads of women.

"YIPE!" Skittles yipped, and ducked behind Multi's leg.

"What _are_ they?" Multi asked.

"Harpies!" Danalleah screamed, looking in her book.

"Duck and cover!" Cronella shouted.

"How do we get rid of them?" Phyllis asked.

"I don't know!" Danalleah cried. "It's not in the book!"

"I say we do it the old fashioned way," Coiley said, picking up a stick. "Phyllis, you stay back with Fluey and try to wake him up. We'll take care of the Harpies!"

Phyllis nodded, and took Fluey over to a clear spot behind a group of trees. She wrapped sat down, and wrapped her arms around his chest, holding him close. She shook him a little to try to wake him up.

"Come on, Fluey, wake up, we need your help!" she shouted.

Fluey didn't even respond. He just let out a moan. Phyllis bit her lower lip, and turned to the others, who were doing their best to fight these things, but it wasn't easy! She was so absorbed in watching the fight, she didn't even notice a shadow looming over her, until she heard a loud screech. She looked up, and saw a fleet of Harpies heading right for her and Fluey. She picked up a nearby stick, and began swatting at them.

"Get away! Get away!" she yelled. One of the harpies screeched, and grabbed the stick with her feet, yanking it out of Phyllis's hand.

Phyllis held Fluey tighter in order to protect him. One of the Harpies let out a screech, and flew right at Phyllis, feet first, the claws on her talons gleaming. Phyllis let out a scream, and backed away, letting go of Fluey in the process. Two more Harpies zoomed in, grabbed Fluey's arms in their talons, and flew into the air with him. Phyllis picked up a nearby rock and was about to throw it when two more Harpies grabbed her by the arms and flew into the air with her. The other Harpies began to fly away as well.

"Well, I guess that takes care of that," Coiley said.

"Not quite, Coiley," Multi replied, looking toward the Harpies. "Take a look at that!"

"Oh no!" Danalleah gasped.

"They're probably taking them back to Maldour's castle," Cronella said.

"We've got to go after them!" Coiley said. "Come on!"

"Count me out!" Cronella said. "I am _never_ setting foot into that maniac magician's castle ever again! You kids know how to get there now. And you're smart enough to find the Fifth Dimension when you're through with him. I'm getting out of here as fast as I can get!"

"But Mother, you can't leave us hanging like this!" Danalleah shouted. "How do we defeat Maldour?"

"Improvise!" Cronella shouted. "I'm leaving!"

And with that, Cronella ran off as fast as she could.

"Mother!" Danalleah called out. "Mother, come back! We still need you!"

"Forget about her," Coiley said. "We've got more important things to do than worry about that crafty kitty."

"Right," Multi said. "There's only four of us now. And the four of us have to go back to Maldour's castle and rescue Fluey and Phyllis."

"Rally ho!" the two Impossibles shouted, and they, along with Danalleah and Skittles, started down the path, back toward the creepy castle.


	14. Trapped Like Rats

The Harpies returned to Maldour's castle, and dropped Phyllis and Fluey through a hole in the roof. CRASH!

"Sunday flyers!" Phyllis shouted at them.

"Welcome back, my dear," Maldour said.

"I wouldn't call it a welcome," Phyllis said, glaring at the wizard. Then she turned to Fluey, who was lying in a heap on the floor. She knelt next to him, and lifted his torso.

"Come on, Fluey, please, wake up, already!" she shouted.

"It's useless to try to wake him," Maldour said. "He'll be asleep for quite awhile."

"What did you do to him?!"

"Now, now, now, Phyllis dear. Don't get so emotional. He's actually playing an important part in my plan."

"And what plan is that?"

"I will only be too glad to tell you, my dear."

Maldour snapped his fingers, and a couple of chairs pulled up. Phyllis sat down in one, and Maldour levitated Fluey to the other one. Then he snapped his fingers and Fluey was strapped to the chair, and moved toward a crystal on a pedestal. Phyllis noticed it throbbing, and with each throb, it glowed a purple color. She also noticed Fluey was suddenly surrounded in a purple glow that matched that of the throbbing crystal, and a purple mist was moving into the crystal from the glow. Fluey began moaning and thrashing again, with the occasional blood curdling shriek thrown in.

"What are you _doing_ to him?!" Phyllis shouted.

"Simply put, he's fueling my power," Maldour said. "See the mist that's going into my crystal? Those are his nightmares and inner demons. And those are what fuels my power. And I must say, he is quite a delicious specimen."

"You mean to tell me you _feed_ on people's nightmares and inner demons?!"

"Pretty much. This boy was a gold mine in that category. That's why I captured him in the first place. Thanks to your brother, I'll be kind of the world!"

"You're completely insane."

"I am not insane. I'm just determined to rule the world, one way or another. I _had_ hoped it would be through you, but, eh. C'est la vie."

"You know the other two Impossibles are still out there. They're probably on their way here now."

"Oh please. They can't do anything to me. Not even Cronella Critch's daughter can get the better of me. I think it will be quite fun to see them take on more of my creatures. They don't stand a chance. Not as long as I have their little friend. And as long as I have him, I have the advantage. Now then, let's talk about your role in my scheme."

"If you're going to convince me to wear that amulet again, you're out of your mind!"

"Why would I need you to put on my amulet? I'm completely flesh and blood now. No, I don't need you for world domination."

"Then what _am_ I doing here?"

"As I said before, I intend to be king of the world, and as everybody knows, every king needs a queen."

"And I'm elected, right?"

"Naturally. Those Impossibles don't stand a chance in my world, so you'd better get used to being queen of the world, my dear."

"Over my dead body! I'm not interested in this offer. You'll have to find someone who's more shallow."

"I'm offering you the chance of a lifetime! How can you turn me down?"

"Easy. After what happened with that amulet of yours, I despise you!"

"We'll see how you feel after spending some time in the tower!"

Maldour waved his hand, and a red mist surrounded Phyllis. When it cleared, she was sent to the tower. Maldour began massaging the side of his head with his hand.

"Women can be such headaches," he said. "Can't live with 'em and you can't live without 'em."

Maldour sat down in his throne, and looked into his viewing pool. He got a fix on Coiley, Multi, Danalleah, and Skittles, walking through the forest.

"I think I'll have a little fun," Maldour said, waving his hands in a circle, and he created another monster.

The group came to the lake where they had encountered the hippocampus earlier. They managed to find a couple of rocks and used them to get across the lake. They stopped at an island in the middle of it.

"Well, there isn't much to see around here," Multi said, as he stood on the island. "You guys see anything'?"

"Yeah," Coiley said. "The island's moving."

"Moving? Don't be ridiculous, Coiley. Island's don't move!"

"Yeah, well, this one does!"

Before Multi could say anything else, something grabbed him, and pulled him underneath the water, and the island sank. Coiley, Danalleah, and Skittles just stood there, mouths gaping open. The island then popped up out of the water to reveal a giant octopus of some kind. Or at least that's what the others thought it was.

"That's the biggest octopus I've ever seen!" Coiley shouted. "Anyone in the mood for calamari?"

"That's not an octopus!" Danalleah shouted. "It's a kraken! Come on, Coiley! We've got to help Multi!"

Immediately, Coiley and Danalleah began to hurl rocks at the kraken, trying to discourage it. Skittles ran all around the beast, biting at it's legs. But it didn't seem to be doing anything. The kraken brought his leg downward, right at Coiley and Danalleah.

"Look out!" Danalleah shouted. "Krakens have been known to crush ships!"

The kraken nearly crushed the two teenagers, and they backed up rapidly. Coiley then jumped forward and grabbed a leg. The kraken began shaking, trying to throw Coiley off. Danalleah stood back and watched. She couldn't hit the monster with her magic. She wasn't able to get close enough. Then she remembered how Multi had stopped her mother's ghost patrol when they first tangled with her.

"Multi, do you still have that pocket mirror of yours?" she asked.

"Yeah," Multi said, pulling out a small, pocket mirror. "What do you need it for?"

"Hold it up as high as you can! I'm gonna bounce my magic off it!"

If there was one thing not even the greatest of all witches could do, it was cast a spell on a mirror. The magic always bounced off it. Danalleah was counting on that. She zapped it with her magic, and the beam bounced against the glass, and shot right at the kraken's eyes. He growled, and let go of Multi. It also whipped it's other leg away from Coiley, and slunk back into the lake, never to be seen again.

"That was a close one," Multi said.

"What's next?" Coiley asked. "The Loch Ness Monster? Maldour's getting sneaky. I've about had it with these things!"

"At least we know we're going in the right direction," Multi said. "Let's go."

The quartet made it back to the castle in record time. They found the drawbridge was down, and were about to run across it, but Skittles noticed something. Something new had been added since their visit, which was only moments before. She began barking to get the others' attention. They looked up, and saw the new addition.

"Gargoyles," Multi said.

"But they're not alive, are they?" Coiley asked.

"Sure are," Multi replied. "We've got to get past them somehow."

"I've got an idea," Danalleah said.

Danalleah snapped his fingers, and shook her hand, as if there were dice in it. She threw a cube of magic at the gargoyles on the roof. It looked like a shooting star flying by, and the gargoyles went to investigate.

"Come on, let's go!" Danalleah shouted, running across the drawbridge. "This is our only chance!"

The boys and Skittles followed Danalleah into the castle. They barely made it before the gargoyles came back.

"Now what?" Coiley asked.

"I don't know," Multi said. Suddenly, the group heard an ear piercing scream.

"Follow that scream!" Coiley shouted.

The quartet ran down the hallway, in the direction the scream came from. Unfortunately, they didn't get very far. A trap door opened, and the foursome plunged downward.

"Rally hey!" Multi and Coiley shouted.

The group hit the very basement of the castle. It was extremely dark, and very hard to see.

"Oh brother," Coiley said. "I wonder what that whacko wizard has got stored down here?"

The group stood up, and began walking around, trying to find either a light switch, or a staircase. Multi noticed a lot of crates and barrels stored in the basement. He didn't want to know what was inside of them. As the foursome was walking, they heard something behind them. Coiley whirled around to look.

"Fluey? Phyllis?" he asked. "Is that you?"

No answer. Skittles began whimpering. She and the others really hoped that the presence with them _was_ either Fluey or Phyllis, and not some monster. What they needed was a little light. Luckily, they found some. On the wall was a small torch, which dimly lit the room.

"Well, we got our light," Multi said, taking the torch. "Now maybe we'll find a way out of here."

The group continued walking along the wall, until they heard something behind the crates and barrels. He walked over to one, and moved it, hoping Fluey or Phyllis would be around. Once he moved it, five snakes jumped out at him. Danalleah screamed, and backed away as fast as she could. The boys followed. Next to those five snakes, another crate moved. Multi dared to look, and five more snakes jumped out. Between the snakes, the boxes and barrels moved out of the way to reveal a large monster. It's skin was green, and it had the head of a snake. It's fingers and toes were snakes as well. That equaled twenty-one snakes, and forty-two fangs.

"I hope these aren't poisonous snakes!" Multi shouted.

"Use the sword, Multi, use the sword!" Coiley shouted.

"Okay, fella," Multi said, holding up the sword. "Come and get me!"

The snake creature came forward. Multi swung the sword as hard as he could. He sliced off the snakes on the hands. He swung it a second time and got the feet. That only resulted in twenty small snakes slithering on the floor. They grew wings, and flew into the air. They dived at Multi, and began biting at his arms, neck, and face. Multi tried shaking them off, but they wouldn't give up. The giant snake head was ready to lunge itself. Multi wasn't even aware it was coming. He was trying to shake the smaller snakes off. Due to this, he was also blindly swinging the sword. The giant snake head didn't see it coming, and Multi ended up slicing the beast's head off. It fell to the floor, and turned to stone. The body of the snake monster also turned to stone. The smaller snakes lost their wings, fell to the floor, and shriveled up. Multi stared at them, then collapsed to the floor, breathless, and terrified.

"Oh boy," he said, catching his breath. "I _hate_ snakes!"

"Come on," Coiley said. "We'd better find Fluey and Phyllis and get out of here before we all get killed!"

The others agreed, and began walking. Unfortunately, they didn't get very far. A blast of wind suddenly blew into them, and pushed them into a wall. Then, iron shackles fastened to their wrists, and they found themselves chained to the wall. Skittles began barking frantically, when an iron shackle fastened itself around her neck. She tried to run, but she ended up nearly choking herself.

"Holy isolation!" Coiley shouted.

"Gotcha, kiddies!" Maldour's voice said. "You _really_ didn't think you could beat me, now did you?"

"What are you going to do with us?" Danalleah asked, nervously.

"I'm not quite sure yet," Maldour said. "I think I'll leave you down there in the dungeon for a couple of hundred years. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a world to conquer, a wedding to plan, and my bride to convince to go through with this wedding."

Maldour cackled madly, and his voice faded away.

"Now what do we do?" Danalleah asked.

"I don't know," Multi sighed. "I just don't know."


	15. Stoned

While Danalleah, Skittles, and the two Impossibles pondered on what to do, Maldour went up to the tower. Phyllis was sitting against the wall, arms folded tightly over her chest. She heard the door open, saw Maldour there, and groaned.

"Well, have we thought about my offer?" Maldour asked.

"I have," Phyllis said. "And the answer is still no! When the others get here . . . . ."

"They're already here," Maldour said. "They're rotting away in my dungeon as we speak. And with no way out, either. I chained them to the wall, so your little friend Mark won't be able to try his lock picking trick."

"Threaten all you want, Maldour, but I refuse to become your queen!"

"We'll just see about that, milady. Looks like you could do with some more time in here. I'll let you go just as soon as you change your mind."

"Never!"

"We'll see."

And with that, Maldour left. Phyllis let out a growl, and sulked.

Back in the dungeon, Coiley, Multi, and Danalleah were trying to figure out how to get out of the predicament they found themselves in.

"I don't think we'll find a way out of this," Multi said. "I can't even reach the locks!"

"Even if you could, Multi, it wouldn't do us any good," Danalleah said. "I don't have a bobby pin on me."

"Boy, we're really in a mess this time," Coiley said. "I don't think we'll ever be able to get out of here."

"Wait a minute!" Danalleah shouted. "Look! There's a shadow at the window!"

"Yeah . . . . ." Multi said, looking over. "It kind of looks like an overgrown cat."

"Overgrown cat?" Coiley repeated.

"Mother?!" Danalleah shouted, increduously, as Cronella Critch herself squeezed through the window bars and landed on the floor in front of the surprised foursome.

"You were expecting maybe Harry Houdini?" Cronella asked. She jumped onto Danalleah's shoulders and began fiddling with the locks on the chains with her claw.

"I thought you went back to Megatropolis," Multi said.

"I did," Cronella said. "But I decided to come back."

"How come?" Coiley asked.

"Because Maldour will make life a living nightmare for everyone," Cronella said. "If he succeeds in becoming king of the world, no one is going to have the guts to stop him. I'm only helping you out so this monster of a magician can be stopped once and for all."

Cronella managed to unlock Danalleah's chains, and she used her magic to free Coiley, Multi, and Skittles.

"So now that we're free, where do we go?" Coiley asked. Before anyone could answer, a loud, ear shattering shriek echoed throughout the castle.

"Follow the screams," Cronella said, and she led the way out of the dungeon.

The group followed Cronella up the stairs, going in the direction of the tortured howls that were echoing all over the place. Multi and Coiley knew stopping Maldour would be easier said than done.

"How _are_ we going to stop him, anyway?" Multi asked.

"We'll have to wait and see," Cronella said. "And it won't be easy, I'll tell you that."

"Maybe we should split up," Coiley said. "We could cover more ground that way."

"And we could also end up smears on the floor if we did that," Cronella said. "Trust me. It will be much better if we stick together on this one."

"I'm really glad you decided to come back, Mother," Danalleah said.

"Save it, girlie," Cronella said. "I'm only doing this to keep that creep from taking over the world."

The group continued along, but they could tell they were being followed. Multi could feel something breathing down his neck. And this was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Okay," he said, calmly. "That's it. I have had it."

Multi turned around and found himself face to face with a large lizard creature, complete with fangs and claws. Multi glared at it, and held the sword. Then, he ended up grabbing the lizard by the neck, and looking it right in the eye.

"Listen here, lizard," he said. "I am having an extremely bad day. One of my friends was kidnapped by a maniac magician. My other friends and I have had to team up with one of our worst enemies, track this evil wizard to this world. We've fought off a giant beetle, a Chimera, a Hydra, a Cyclopes, a fire breathing dragon, and a giant mountain lion, swam through the most disgusting red sea you can imagine, fought off a huge sea monster, a creature disguised like one of my friends, a hippocampus, a snake monster, and an army of rats, ran into a pit full of spiders, nearly had our heads lopped off by a beam of light, was attacked by an army of Harpies who kidnapped two of our friends, battled a kraken, ended up locked in a dungeon, and faced _another_ snake monster! Now we are _trying_ to find our friends before this wizard can kill both of them, so quite frankly, I'm not in the mood to play any more games with any more monsters!"

And with that, Multi plunged the sword into the monster. It shrieked, and turned to stone the minute Multi yanked the sword out. Then he turned around, and looked about the room, glaring fiercely at any monsters that were probably hiding.

"And that goes for anything else that tries to mess with us!" he shouted. The others just stood there and stared at Multi. They had never known him to lose it like _that_ before! Multi saw the others staring at him and sighed.

"Sorry, everybody," he said. "Maldour's pushed me too far with these monsters of his."

"I don't blame you," Coiley said. "I was getting sick of them myself!"

Skittles began sniffing around a bit, then she began barking, and running for a flight of stairs, launching into her pointer routine (_poing!_)

"The tower again, huh?" Coiley said.

"Maldour is not known for his originality," Cronella said. "Let's go."

The quintet raced up the stairs to the tower. Once there, Coiley knocked on the door.

"Phyllis?" he asked. "Are you in there?"

"Coiley?" Phyllis asked. "How did you get out of the dungeon?"

"It's a long story," Coiley said. "Back up, we're gonna break the door down!"

Skittles barked, and backed up down the stairs. She was going to need plenty of room for this. She revved up, and shot at the door like a bolt of lightning. Once she hit the door, it was knocked off it's hinges.

"I swear, that dog doesn't know her own strength!" Phyllis shouted.

"Are you all right?" Danalleah asked.

"Yes, except that scum bag wants me to _marry_ him!" Phyllis shouted, grimacing at the thought of it. "Ick! But we've got bigger things to worry about. Maldour's getting his powers from Fluey's nightmares and inner demons. He's got some kind of spell on him, and I don't know how to reverse it."

"I _might_," Cronella said. "But . . . . ."

"There's always a catch, isn't there?" Coiley said, rolling his eyes.

"No," Cronella said, shooting Coiley a dirty look. "I was _going_ to say, but I have to see what spell he put on him. When it comes to Maldour and his spells, you can't just point your finger, zap, and poof! They're fine. I need to know _exactly_ what he did to him."

"He's probably still in the throne room," Phyllis said.

"Then follow me," Cronella said.

Cronella led the group to the throne room. Sure enough, Fluey was still there, still strapped in the chair, still unconscious, and still screaming bloody murder. Cronella jumped onto his lap and sliced the straps holding him to the chair with her claws. Fluey nearly fell face first to the floor, but Multi and Coiley caught him before he could.

"Well?" Coiley asked.

"I'm going to have to look this one up," Cronella said. "Fortunately, Maldour left his spell book in the room."

Cronella ran across the room, where Maldour had mixed his potion, and jumped into the table. She opened the spell book to the page Maldour had book marked, and read through it.

"Should've known," she said. "A nightmare spell. These things are nearly impossible to break."

"Does that mean we can't do anything?" Danalleah asked.

"I said _nearly_ impossible, girlie," Cronella said, giving her daughter a dirty look. "I _didn't_ say _completely_ impossible! There's a counter spell listed here. Just give me a minute . . . . . ah ha! Here it is. Now then, you boys go dig up the ingredients, and we'll mix it up."

The ingredients to the counter spell weren't as numerous as the original spell, but still pretty disgusting (eye of newt, swamp muck, fuzzy mildew, sea slime, and werewolf tongue). And it didn't smell any better than the original potion had.

"Whoa!" Multi shouted, pinching his nose shut and taking a few steps back, as Cronella pulled that glop into a test tube and corked it. "I don't even think you'll _need_ to have Fluey drink that stuff! Just put that test tube under his nose and he'll wake up instantly!"

Before Cronella could respond, a clap of thunder roared, and lightning flashed. In the thunder and lightning, Maldour appeared, and he was holding an unconscious Fluey under his arm.

"I had a feeling you'd try to escape," he said. "You may have conjured up a counter spell, but you'll never be able to use it!"

Maldour raised one hand into the air, produced a ball of magic, and threw it at our heroes. It surrounded the two Impossibles, Skittles, Danalleah, and Cronella, and they were blasted right into the wall. Phyllis gasped, and was about to run over to them, when Maldour grabbed her wrist.

"Just one moment, milady," he said. "You and your brother aren't going anywhere!"

With a wave of the hand, the ground began to shake. It drew the others' attention right away (thankfully, they had only been slightly dazed when they hit the wall).

"What's going on now?" Coiley asked.

"I don't know," Multi said. "But I don't like the look of it!"

The ground continued to shake, until the section of the floor Maldour and Phyllis were standing on began to rise. The section also held Maldour's pedestal where he was keeping his crystal.

"See you next lifetime, kiddies!" he laughed hysterically, as he disappeared upward.

"What now?" Coiley asked.

"We've got to get up there," Multi said, as he picked up Skittles. "Grab on, Danalleah."

Danalleah held onto Multi's shoulders, and the red haired Impossible duplicated himself upward. Cronella, still holding the test tube, jumped onto Coiley's back.

"Onward and upward!" she shouted.

"Rally ho!" Coiley shouted, and sprang up after Multi and Danalleah.

Up on the cliff, Maldour dropped Fluey to the floor. Fluey let out a moan. Whatever was going on in his nightmares just seemed to be getting worse. Phyllis wanted to run over to him, but Maldour stopped her.

"This is your last chance, my dear," he said. "Either you become my queen, or else something _very_ drastic may happen!"

Phyllis took a glance at Fluey, and bit her lower lip nervously.

"If I agree," she said, "will you let Fluey go?"

"Hah!" Maldour laughed. "Are you _mad_, woman?! Of course I won't let him go! He's the perfect fuel I need for world domination! Why would I want to let him go?!"

"Well, if that's the case . . . . . ."

Phyllis then gave Maldour a good, hard slap in the face.

"I'll never become your queen!" she shouted.

"Actually, you no longer have a choice in that matter," Maldour said, grabbing her arm. He waved his hand over her, and her clothes were transformed into a long, white gown with gold trim, and a veil appeared in her hair.

"Now then," he laughed. "You're ready to become immortalized as queen of the world."

"What do you mean immortalized?" Phyllis asked, nervously. Maldour snickered sinisterly and snapped his fingers, conjuring up a black cloak.

"You'll soon see, my lovely," he said, evilly. "You soon shall see."

"Where are the boys when I need them?"

"I wouldn't count on them coming. I must say, you mortals slay me. They are completely and utterly useless!"

Maldour laughed and was about to throw the cloak over Phyllis, when suddenly, it was grabbed right out of his hands. Maldour turned to look, and found Coiley, Multi, Skittles, Cronella, and Danalleah standing there. Coiley was holding the cloak.

"How's _that_ for utterly useless mortals?" he asked.

"Let them both go, Maldour," Multi said. "We're warning you!"

"No, I'm the one warning you," Maldour said, holding his hands into the air. Lightning flashed at our heroes, knocking them off their feet. Maldour retrieved his cloak, and glared at the lot of them.

"You have just used up all your luck," he said. "Though I must say, I _am_ impressed with you. You bested all my creatures, which no one has ever done before. Quite an impossible task, really."

"Why did you even _think_ we're known as the Impossibles?" Multi asked, glaring at Maldour.

"Yes, well," Maldour said with a shrug. "I must admit, it wasn't easy to defeat my creatures. I'd say you deserve a place of honor in my court. To be immortalized forever, as the heroes who defeated my creatures."

In one lightning quick move, Maldour threw his cloak over our heroes. Phyllis walked over, and lifted the cloak, only to find Coiley, Multi, Danalleah, and Skittles had been turned into stone statues. She gasped, and immediately dropped the cloak.

"Five lovely new statues for my collection," Maldour said, taking his cloak. "Now, let's make it six."

Phyllis began backing away, but there wasn't anywhere to go, except straight down. She was trapped. And it looked like no one could help her.

But if Maldour had only stopped to count those new statues, he would have noticed he only had four, and not five. Cronella had known what was coming, and she ducked out of sight before the cloak landed, and hid behind the pedestal Maldour's crystal was resting on. And she still had the potion.

"Oh boy, what a dilemma," she grumbled. "Finally, we've got those insufferable Impossibles out of the picture. I could just leave them like this. I'm sure that would put me back in favor with the Witches Union. They could turn me back to my normal self once they get wind of this. On the other hand, they could also skin me alive when they learn Maldour was the one who defeated them, and then took over the world. What's a cat to do?"

Cronella thought about it some more, and then looked at the potion in the test tube. Then she glanced over at Fluey, who was screaming his head off. Immediately, Cronella knew exactly what to do.

"I'm gonna hate myself in the morning for this," she said. "I was hoping to get Danalleah or one of the other two to do this, but looks like I'm going to have to do it myself."

Cronella walked over to Fluey, and uncorked the test tube. But instead of giving him the potion, she drank it herself. Once she drank the entire thing, she yawned, and stretched out, making herself comfortable next to Fluey. Then, she fell into a deep sleep, almost as deep as the one Fluey was in.

Cronella woke up a few minutes later, and found herself in a dark dungeon of sorts. There were torches on the wall lighting the area, but it was a dim light. She looked around, and her fur bristled.

"It's worse than I thought," she said. "Brother, this boy has some _serious_ issues! I might want to talk to Danalleah to talk him into seeing a psychiatrist!"

Cronella then started to run down a hallway, following the sound of Fluey's screaming, hoping the Witches Union would forgive her for helping her enemies.


	16. Face Off with Fear

Cronella followed the screams down a dark, dank, and dreary hallway. She sighted Fluey at the end of it, backed against the wall, being pulled at by a bunch of hands. Evil laughter was echoing all around. Fluey was writhing around, trying to get out of their grips.

"Let go of me!" he screamed.

"Well, now or never," Cronella grumbled. She let out a shriek (cat style), and charged forward, sinking her teeth into one of those disembodied hands. Then she began swatting at the other hands with her claws, until they flew off, like a bunch of bats. Fluey sank down to the floor, breathing heavily, both completely terrified, _and_ shocked at the sight of _who_ had chased off those hands.

"If _that's_ a sign of things to come, then I suggest you get some therapy!" Cronella shouted.

"What . . . . . how did you . . . . ." Fluey stammered.

"I'll explain later. Come on. You've got work to do."

"But . . . . but what are _you_ doing here?!"

"I'm helping you get out of here."

"But . . . . . but why are you . . . . ."

"Because your friends, your sister, my daughter, and your little dog _can't_, that's why! Now come on! The sooner we get out of here the better!"

"I hope you know what you're doing, Cronella. Everywhere I look around here . . . . ."

Before Fluey could go on, laughter was heard from behind a door in the hallway. It opened, and out came a woman, with the body of a snake, in Arabian dress, surrounded by cobras. Her eyes were glowing red, and her hair was nothing more than a nest of raven black snakes, all hissing and baring fangs. The woman was holding a razor sharp dagger in her hands.

"Madam Medusa, I presume?" Cronella asked.

"No . . . . ." Fluey said, nervously, and he began backing away. "Princess Psychopath!"

"Princess _who_?!"

"Princess Sandrina of Khakistan! We were on a middle eastern tour, and our first stop was a country called Khakistan. I got mistaken for the prince who had disappeared from the palace when he was a baby, and Sandrina had tried tokill me in order to get the throne. And as it turned out, she tried to kill me for nothing."

"Farewell, little brother!" the Medusa-like Sandrina hissed, holding up her dagger, as several snakes wound themselves around Fluey, holding him down.

"And thissssss time," she said. "There isssss no essssscape!"

"I can't be_lieve_ I'm gonna say this, but . . . . ." Fluey said. "Cronella, do something! Help me!"

"What do I look like, a snake charmer?" Cronella asked.

"Didn't you say you were gonna help me get out of here?!"

"I am. Here's the help. In order to get out of here, _you're_ going to have to take care of whatever comes our way. _You_ have to face your fears!"

"But . . . . . but how am I supposed to . . . ."

"You're smart. You'll figure it out!"

Fluey just glared at Cronella, and then turned toward Sandrina, coming at him slowly with her dagger, snickering evilly. Fluey bit his lower lip. He couldn't figure out how to get out of this. Then he noticed the snakes were only tied around his arms. His legs were completely free.

"Well, it's worth a shot," he said.

Sandrina let out a screech, and was about to plunge her dagger into Fluey's chest, when Fluey suddenly kicked the knife out of her hand. It went flying, and landed right next to Cronella, missing her by a fraction of an inch.

"Hey, watch it!" she shouted.

The snakes hissed, and dispersed. Once he was free, Fluey grabbed the dagger. Sandrina hissed, and her fingernails grew at least twelve inches long. She pointed her index nail right at Fluey's Adam's apple.

"You've jussssst made a very ssssstupid missssstake, little brother," she said.

"N-n-no . . . . ." Fluey stammered, doing his best to summon up the courage to stand up to this monster princess. "_You're_ the one making the mistake! I'm not your brother, and you don't have any reason to kill me!"

"You ssssssent me to prissssson! I want my revenge!"

"Yeah? Well, too bad you're not gonna get it!"

Fluey held up the dagger, and in one lightning quick move, used it to cut off Sandrina's fingernail. The snakes in her hair lunged, and Fluey hit them with the dagger. The snakes then fell to the ground and shriveled up.

"Holy haircuts!" Fluey shouted.

"Wait until I get my handssssss on you!" Sandrina shouted, coming at Fluey. She wrapped her hands around his neck and started squeezing. Fluey choked, then, in one lightning quick move, plunged the dagger right into her chest. Sandrina let out a scream, and disintegrated to dust. Fluey fell to the ground and gasped for breath.

"H-how will we know when we're out of here?" he asked Cronella.

"Once all your fears have been defeated," Cronella said.

"I was afraid of that . . . . ."

"Don't tell me there's more."

"There's more."

"I told you not to tell me that."

Fluey shrugged, and was about to say something, but he was cut off my a monstrous roar. Both he and Cronella looked up, and saw what appeared to be yet another snake-like creature, only longer, wider, and flatter. It had two yellow lines running down it's back, and what appeared to be some sort of railing on it's side. As a matter of fact, it looked like a stretch of road.

"I don't get it," Cronella said, giving Fluey a weird look. "How can you _poss_ibly be afraid of some stretch of road?!"

"Easy if it's Dead Man's Curve!" Fluey shouted. "I've gone over the side of the cliff there twice!"

"You went over the side of that cliff _twice_ and you're still alive to _tell_ about it?!"

"It's a long story. But this is the road that killed my parents! My dad lost control of the car and crashed through a guard rail. Both he and my mom were killed. I was only three at the time. I'd rather not go into the second time I went over this cliff."

"Something tells me I'm going to find out about _that_ one eventually . . . . . ."

The monster road suddenly howled, and it sounded like squealing tires. It then lunged at Fluey, trying to take a bite out of him or something. Fluey backed up nervously. Sandrina's dagger was definitely not going to help him against the concrete monster.

"Cronella, what do I do?!" Fluey yelled, backing into the wall.

"I already told you," Cronella said. "You have to defeat these creatures yourself! It's the only way you can be released from Maldour's spell!"

"But . . . . . but I don't know what to do!"

"Think, Fluid Man. Think! What would destroy concrete?"

Fluey thought hard over it, but the monstrous Dead Man's Curve wasnot making it easy on him. He was suddenly backed into a corner by the monster with no way out.

"Oh man . . . . ." he moaned. "If only I had a jackhammer or something . . . . . ."

Suddenly, a light started to glow. When it faded away, there was a jackhammer leaning against the wall.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Cronella asked. "Pick that thing up and use it!"

"Are you kidding?" Fluey asked, grabbing the jackhammer. "I don't know how to work this thing!"

"Just do it!"

Fluey gulped, and aimed the jackhammer directly at the monster road. Then, suddenly, without doing anything, the jackhammer began activating, and it began striking out at the monster, making a terrible racket in the process.

"I've always hated the sounds of road work!" Cronella groaned, covering her ears with her paws. Fluey wanted to do the same thing, but, for some reason, he was unable to let go of the jackhammer.

"I-I-I-I th-th-th-think th-th-th-this th-th-th-thing h-h-as a-a-a-a mi-i-i-ind o-o-of i-i-it's ow-w-w-wn!" Fluey shouted, voice vibrating a bit as he hammered away at the concrete monster.

The monster road howled in agony, as the jackhammer broke pieces of it off, creating large holes in it's back. The pressure increased on the jackhammer, until the monster road was reduced to a pile of rubble. Once it was taken care of, the jackhammer stopped. Fluey wobbled back and forth a little, slightly dizzy from _that_ one.

"Wow . . . . . ." he said, falling to the ground. "Now _that's_ rock and roll!"

"I hope that's the last of them," Cronella said. "Come on. Let's get moving."

Fluey and Cronella walked down a hallway, trying to figure out where an exit was, but someone grabbed Fluey's wrist before they could.

"Going somewhere, Little Tony?" a familiar voice asked. It was all _too_ familiar to Fluey. He'd recognize that voice anywhere. Nervously, he dared to look.

"Antonio Manikatti!" he gasped.

"Now how in the world did _you_ ever get mixed up with _that_ gangster?!" Cronella shouted.

"He's . . . . . he's my grandfather!" Fluey shouted. "And he's partly the reason I went over Dead Man's Curve the second time!"

Manikatti laughed, and changed shape right before Fluey and Cronella's eyes. He turned into a giant monster of sorts, grabbed Fluey, and held him in an iron grip.

"You're not going anywhere, Little Tony!" he shouted. "I told you one day, when I was gone, you'd take over the Syndicate!"

"No, never!" Fluey yelled, struggling to get away. "I'll never do it! Never, never, never!"

Fluey then managed to jam the heel of his boot into Manikatti's foot, causing the gangster to let go of him. Then, he took off like a shot down the hallway, with Cronella hot on his heels.

"You want to explain this one?" she asked, giving Fluey a Look.

"I'll sum it up," Fluey said. "My biological mother is Manikatti's daughter. When we first tangled with him, I didn't know that. He was after a formula my adopted father cooked up right before they went over Dead Man's Curve."

Before Cronella could respond, a hand clamped over Fluey's mouth and pulled him backward. Cronella skidded to a halt and saw the Manikatti monster standing there. Fluey was struggling to get out of his grip.

"You don't have a choice, Little Tony," Manikatti said. "Like it or not, you're the last of the Manikattis. You were destined to lead the Syndicate! You have to come to terms with that. And guess what? It's time. Time for you to lead the Syndicate."

"No!" Fluey yelled, managing to pull Manikatti's hand from his mouth. "Never! _Never_!"

"What's this goon talking about, anyway?" Cronella asked.

"When we went over the cliff the second time, Manikatti didn't survive the crash!" Fluey shouted.

"So . . . . . what you're telling me is your afraid of a dead man who can't _poss_ibly hurt you in any way? Oh brother, what kind of a superhero _are_ you?!"

Fluey glared at Cronella, and then realized she _did_ have a point. Even though Manikatti's spirit haunted him, he _was_ dead, and there was nothing he could do to Fluey. When Fluey realized this, he grabbed Manikatti's arm.

"Heee_yah_!" he shouted, flipping the gangster ghost over his shoulder, judo style (a trick Big D taught him). Then, he kicked him in the stomach, karate style, which knocked Manikatti off his feet.

"Hah!" he shouted, as he karate chopped him in the neck.

"Why you little . . . . ." Manikatti grumbled, and Fluey gave him a good, hard punch in the nose.

"What can you do to me?" he asked. "You're dead as a doornail! You're nothing more than a ghost. An apparition. No matter what you say, you _can't_ hurt me. You're not even real!"

"Aw nuts!" Manikatti shouted, and he faded away into nothing, never to be seen or heard from again.

Cronella managed to find a door, and she threw it open. On the other side was a dark forest of sorts. Cronella groaned. They weren't finished just yet, and she wondered how much more of this they would have to go through. But she didn't say anything, and she and Fluey just ran for it. Fluey suddenly stopped, and gasped. Right in the middle of the hallway were three of Manikatti's best men: Nicky Calamari, Johnny Malone, and Gino Portobello. But for some reason, they were buried up to their necks in the ground.

"Hello, Tony," they said in a monotone unison.

"Oh brother . . . . ." Fluey said, nervously.

"Now what?" Cronella asked.

"Manikatti's goons," Fluey said. "After the fiasco involving Manikatti, three of his men caught up with the three of us, wanting to get revenge on me. I got caught, but I managed to escape, only to end up taking a whack to the head and got amnesia, and they talked me into thinking I was a gangster. It took another whack on the head to get my memory back, and I thought it was curtains because they had shot Multi and knocked him out, and they knocked Coiley out, and Skittles knocked herself out, and I didn't have access to my powers!"

"How _did_ you manage to get out of that?"

"Trust me, you wouldn't believe it, even if I told you."

"Well, I don't think these three can do much. They're only heads!"

"I don't know. I think something fishy's going on here."

Suddenly, Nicky, Johnny, and Gino's heads popped up out of the ground. But they were all attached to three long snake-like necks, and the necks were attached to the body of a dragon. Their eyes turned blood red, and they grew fangs and forked tongues.

"Now I'm sure of it!" Fluey shouted. He and Cronella let out a screech, and ran off. The three headed monster was right behind them.

"You've got to get rid of that thing," he said, as she and Fluey scrambled up a tree. The monster was too big to climb it. It growled, and began to swipe at the branch.

"I . . . . . I don't know if I . . . . ." Fluey said.

"Where's the dagger?"

"I think I dropped it."

"Okay. All right. Not a problem. You have to think of something that can destroy this three headed monster. How do they usually do it in the movies? Come on, kid, _thiiiiiiink_!"

Fluey thought it over. As he was thinking, a bow and arrow magically appeared in his hands.

"Where did . . . . . how did . . . . ." he started.

"Never mind!" Cronella yelled. "Just shoot!"

Fluey gulped, and put the arrow onto the bow. The shot had to be perfect. He aimed carefully, and let go. The arrow flew out and hit the three headed monster right in the chest.

"Bull's eye!" Fluey shouted, triumphantly.

The monster stumbled backwards, screaming in pain. Fluey knew it wasn't destroyed yet, but he would soon rectify that. He loaded another arrow, took careful aim, and shot it at the glowing spot on the monster's chest. The monster growled in pain, and turned into a stone statue.

"Oh man," Fluey groaned, rubbing the side of his head. "This place is starting to give me a headache!"

"Bad news," Cronella said. "This isn't over yet. I hate to think of what's next."

"Let's just get out of here before we run into . . . . ."

Fluey didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. A large shadow loomed over him and Cronella. Fluey began shaking nervously. He knew _exactly_ what this was. And he didn't like it one bit.

"Oh no . . . . . ." he moaned. "The Shadow!"

"Oh yeah, I remember this guy," Cronella said. "He broke me, Televisitron Mr. Instant, and the Spinner out of prison in order to distract your friends so he could get his hands on you. But he wouldn't tell us what for. All he told us was to capture either you or your sister. Only he didn't tell us she was your sister at the time."

"He was trying to destroy the Secret Security Headquarters and Big D," Fluey said. "After he set up that decoy, he took me to this deserted island and kept me there for I don't even _know_ how long! And he did nothing but _torture_ me!"

"Why is it teenagers have a tendency to exaggerate?" Cronella asked.

The Shadow approached Fluey and Cronella. He laughed evilly and grabbed Fluey by the arms.

"No matter how you try to deny it, little one," he said, "you belong to me. I _own_ you!"

"No . . . . " Fluey said, struggling. "You _can't_ take possession of a person, Shadow!"

The Shadow said nothing, and grabbed hold of Fluey's jacket, ripping a piece off of it. He had also tore a piece of Fluey's shirt off in the process, revealing the Shadow's insignia on his chest. Fluey tried to hide it with his hand before Cronella could see it, but it was too late.

"What in the world . . . . ." she started. "The mark of the Shadow . . . . . but how . . . . ."

"He burned it into my skin!" Fluey yelled. "He came at me with a hot branding iron, and I'm stuck with it!"

"It only proves you're mine, little one," the Shadow said, practically hissing in Fluey's ear.

"Well, don't just stand there!" Cronella shouted. "You're going to have to face him if you want to get out of here!"

"I . . . . . I . . . . I _can't_!" Fluey shouted. "I just can't! I can't defeat the Shadow!"

"If you don't, you'll just be trapped in your nightmares forever!"

Fluey let out a moan. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to fight off the Shadow. He wasn't like Antonio Manikatti. As far as he knew, the Shadow was still alive, though in a super maximum security prison. But even still, he feared the Shadow would somehow escape.

"I can't do it!" Fluey screamed. "I just _can't do it_!"

"Fluid Man, listen to me," Cronella said. "You have _got_ to fight this! If you let your fear of him control you, you'll never break out of Maldour's spell! Your nightmares and fears are what's giving him power!"

"Don't listen to her, little one," the Shadow said, as he surrounded Fluey in a swirl of a shadowy mist. "She's just a cat. You can't fight me off. You can't stand up to me. You'll never get away from me!"

"Never . . . . . get . . . . . away . . . . ." Fluey said, drowsily.

"There's no one to save you," the Shadow continued. "Your grandfather didn't come along, you know. You're better off succumbing to me. After all, this is Cronella Critch we're talking about here. One of your worst enemies. If she's trying to convince you to face your fears, then it _must_ be a trick."

"He's the one trying to trick _you_!" Cronella shouted. "Fluid Man, I'm _telling_ you, you _have_ to fight it! You _have_ to defeat the Shadow if you want to break the spell over him and change Danalleah and your friends back!"

"Dani?" Fluey asked, looking up at Cronella, weakly. "What . . . . . happened to Dani?"

"Maldour turned her, Multi Man, Coil Man, and your little mutt into stone statues!" Cronella shouted. "And he's going to do the same to your sister if you don't snap out of it!"

"You're wasting your time, Critch," the Shadow said. "He's not going to snap out of it. He's nothing more than a weakling! A frail, scared, little weakling!"

Fluey took a deep breath. He didn't know how, but he somehow knew Cronella was telling him the truth. His friends needed him. All he had to do was face the Shadow. He closed his eyes, and tried to think about what the best way to deal with him was. As he was thinking about it, something magically formed in his hand. It was a branding iron, with the Secret Security Headquarters logo on it.

"What the . . . . ." the Shadow said. The shadows surrounding Fluey dispersed, and the dark haired Impossible turned around, holding up the red hot branding iron.

"How about a taste of your own medicine, Shadow?!" he shouted, and plunged the branding iron directly into the Shadow's stomach. The Shadow screamed in agony, burst into flames, and disappeared. Thunder crashed, lightning flashed, and a strong burst of wind started blowing. Everything began swirling into an array of psychedelic colors.

"What's going on now?!" Fluey shouted.

"Hold on!" Cronella shouted. "We're getting out of here!"


	17. The Nightmare is Over

Once the swirling colors subsided, Cronella and Fluey began waking up from their potion induced sleep. Fluey was feeling a little groggy and disoriented from being under the effects of that potion for so long, though.

"Oooh, my head . . . ." he moaned. "What happened? Where are we?"

"The real world," Cronella said. Then she realized what she had just said. "Well, sorta. We're out of your nightmares, but we're still in Maldour's kingdom."

"Oh great."

"Come on. Pull yourself together. We've got to to defeat Maldour before it's too late!"

Fluey got up, and followed Cronella to the pedestal where Maldour was keeping his crystal orb.

"Hey, I've got it," Fluey said. "We'll just smash the orb and . . . . ."

"Stop!" Cronella hissed, smacking Fluey's hand with her paw. "Smashing it will only draw Maldour's attention to us, and he'll likely turn us into stone statues as well. Besides, his power isn't in this crystal. The energy from your fears and nightmares is. He's going to use this crystal to take over the world. If we break the crystal, it'll just unleash your fears onto the whole world."

"Okay, bad idea. So . . . . . what do we do?"

"Let me think."

Fluey rolled his eyes, and looked out to see what was going on. Maldour was standing in front of four columns, holding his cloak. He had Phyllis tied to one of them, and she was struggling to get loose.

"I hope you thought well of the pose you will be in, my pretty," Maldour said. "You'll be in that position for a very long time."

"You're absolutely out of your mind!" Phyllis shouted. "Why are you even turning me to stone, anyway?"

"So the whole world can see my beautiful queen. I want you to remain young and beautiful forever!"

"This is just revenge for me breaking your stupid moonstone, isn't it?"

"I admit, yes it is. I'm killing three birds with one stone, so to speak."

"How so?"

"Well, first, there's your brother, who started a revolt against me. Then, there's your grandfather who broke you out of my spell when he shot the moonstone. Finally, there's you for taking it off and breaking it. You see, I won't even have to do anything to your grandfather. Once you're turned to stone, and your brother is dead, he'll . . . . . ."

"Wait! What do you mean once my brother is dead?"

"Oh, my nightmare spell is so powerful . . . . his fears and inner demons are likely to tear him limb from limb. And if he dies in his dreams . . . . . well, you get the idea. He must be dead by now. I haven't heard a scream out of him for awhile. No matter. Time for your immortalization, my lovely."

Maldour laughed, and was about to throw his cloak over Phyllis, when Fluey jumped out of his hiding place and tackled the warlock to the ground. He gave him a good punch in the face, which dazed Maldour long enough for Fluey to start untying Phyllis.

"You came not a moment too soon, Fluey!" she shouted. "How did you get out from under that nightmare spell?"

"Cronella helped me," Fluey said. "Whoa, is that one for Ripley's or what?"

"Come on," Cronella said. "We've got to get out of here before . . . . ."

"Nobody is going anywhere!" Maldour shouted, getting to his feet. "I don't know how you did it, Critch! Nobody can break _my_ nightmare spells!"

"I found the counter spell, Maldour," Cronella said, the fur on her back standing up straight.

"Of all the dirty, no good, tricky . . . . ."

"They don't call me Cronella Critch the Tricky Witch for nothing, you know!"

"Bah!"

Maldour generated some magic in his hands, and blasted at Fluey, Phyllis, and Cronella. They all jumped out of the way in the nick of time, each going in separate directions. They knew Maldour couldn't zap them all at the same time if they split up. Maldour growled, swung his cloak over his head, and threw it. It landed right on top of Cronella.

"Oh noooooooo!" Cronella shrieked, and then there was silence. Maldour removed the cloak, and Cronella was revealed as nothing more than a stone statue.

"Five down, two to go," Maldour said. He shot a piece of magic out, and threw it. It surrounded Phyllis, and carried her back to the columns.

"I'm wasting no more time!" Maldour shouted. "And once I'm finished with you, my pretty, your brother will be next! There's no hope now. The world will be mine!"

"Don't be too sure," Fluey said. He ran over, and grabbed the cloak right out of the warlock's hands.

"Why you . . . ." Maldour said.

"Toro! Toro!" Fluey shouted, waving the cloak like a matador's cape.

Maldour ran for it, just as Fluey knew he would. The dark haired Impossible smiled, and draped it over Maldour's head, as he charged into it.

"Ole!" Fluey shouted.

Phyllis fell from midair onto the floor. She wasn't hurt, but she _was_ a little dazed. Fluey ran over to her and grabbed her arm.

"Let's split!" he shouted.

"Good idea!" Phyllis shouted.

Fluey and Phyllis ran for it, but before they could get far Maldour threw his cloak off him, and glared at them.

"I'll show you," he said. "I'll destroy the both of you!"

"Ho boy," Fluey said, nervously. "I wish I had my transformer! Then I'd be able to make short work of this sucker!"

"I'm actually surprised he didn't turn to stone when you covered him with that cloak of his," Phyllis said.

"I'm immune to that spell, you stupid fools!" Maldour shouted. "I have too much power! Nothing can defeat me!"

"Nothing can defeat the Impossibles, either!" Fluey shouted. "We've taken on several bad guys, and you're no exception!"

"I'd like to see what you can do without your powers!"

"SPLIT!" Fluey yelled, and he and Phyllis took off in different directions.

Maldour reached out, and grabbed Fluey by the arm. Then he produced a dagger in his hands.

"I've got you now, Anthony," Maldour said. "And there's no escape from me now. Without your powers, you have nothing!"

Maldour was about to plunge the dagger right into Fluey's chest, when Fluey used his free hand to give Maldour a good uppercut to the jaw. It steered Maldour's aim away from his chest, but unfortunately, the dagger hit Fluey's shoulder instead. Fluey screamed in agony. Maldour then changed his dagger into a sword, and hit Fluey over the head as hard as he could with the handle. Fluey fell to the ground, dazed. He couldn't get up. Maldour laughed, and came at him with the sword poised.

Phyllis watched helplessly, wondering what in the world she could do. Suddenly, she spotted the sword still in Multi's hand from the earlier encounter with the lizard creature. And thankfully, it wasn't turned to stone. She grabbed the handle, wrenched it out of Multi's hand, and threw it to her brother.

"Fluey, here!" she shouted.

The sword landed right next to Fluey's hand. He grabbed the handle and managed to cut the vines off of him. Then, he stood up, and plunged the sword right into the wizard's chest.

"Touche!" he shouted. Then he collapsed.

Maldour screeched in agony and slowly, began to freeze, turning to stone. Once he was a statue, the stone platform Maldour had created began lowering down to the ground. The red clouds turned white and began to clear the skies, the bare trees began growing bright green leaves. Grass and flowers began to cover the barren land. All of the monsters left in the creepy forest changed as well, turning into cute, fuzzy, forest creatures like squirrels, rabbits, deer, and the like. A glow surrounded Skittles, Danalleah, Cronella, and the other two Impossibles, and they turned back to normal.

"What just happened?" Coiley asked.

"Oh, nothing much, fellas," Phyllis said. "We just took care of the maniac magician, that's all."

"Where's Fluey?" Danalleah asked. Skittles began barking, and went into her pointer routine (_poing_!)

"Over here!" Multi shouted, running toward his semi-conscious dark-haired team mate. The others followed. Danalleah gasped when she saw the gash in his shoulder.

"Oh, Fluey!" she shouted, pulling Fluey's upper body into her arms. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I . . . . . think so," Fluey said, weakly.

"How'd you get out from under the spell?" Coiley asked.

"Later," Fluey said. "I'll tell you . . . . later."

And with that, Fluey dropped off to sleep. Phyllis ripped a piece of her skirt off and wrapped it around Fluey's arm.

"We'd better get him back home," she said. "I don't like the looks of this lump on his head, and the cut to his shoulder has me worried, too."

"Not quite yet," Cronella said, indicating the statue of Maldour. "We've still got a couple of things to take care of."

Cronella took the crystal from the pedestal and gave it to Danalleah.

"Give this to the chief of that organization of yours," she said. "And whatever you do, _do not_ break it! This has your boyfriend's fears and inner demons and such. If it breaks, it will unleash them all over the world, and it _could_ mean disaster."

"Yes, Mother," Danalleah said.

"What do we do with _that _thing?" Coiley asked, pointing at the statue of Maldour.

"I think I have an idea," Danalleah said. "Mother, will anything happen if we break the statue?"

"Go for it," Cronella said.

"Give me a hand, Multi," Coiley said. Coiley and Multi then shoved the statue over the wall, and it crashed down below, smashing to pieces. The minute it smashed, what appeared to be ghosts flew from the ground around the castle, and from the remains of the statue, and floated up toward the sky.

"I thought you said nothing would happen, Mother!" Danalleah shouted.

"I did," Cronella said. "These are the souls of Maldour's less fortunate victims. The ones who died while under the power of that amulet. Fluid Man's sister should consider herself lucky! No mortal has ever survived Maldour's cursed amulet!"

"Then how come you . . . ." Multi started.

"Because I'm a witch, you twit!" Cronella yelled. "Witches aren't mortal!"

"Never mind," Danalleah said. "Let's just go home."

Cronella agreed, and led the way back to the doorway that led to the Fifth Dimension. Then she found the door that went directly to Megatropolis. Once they returned to their home town, they piled into the Impossi-Mobile, and raced directly for the hospital, using the car's radio to inform Big D they were back and to meet them there. Once they arrived, Multi, Coiley, and Phyllis took Fluey inside while Danalleah stayed in the Impossi-Mobile with Skittles and Cronella. Big D arrived shortly afterward.

"How is he?" he asked.

"They took him into an examining room," Coiley said.

"Maldour plunged a dagger into his shoulder, and the doctors said the cut requires stitches," Phyllis said. "They're doing that right now."

"And he's also got a nasty bump on his head," Multi replied. "But other than that, the doctor said he'll be okay."

"What about you, chief?" Coiley asked. "You look a little pale."

"You have _no_ idea . . . . ." Big D said, sitting down in a chair. Then he started massaging his forehead. "I've been worrying ever since you left for the Fifth Dimension. Is everything taken care of?"

"Yes," Phyllis said. "Maldour's been destroyed, and he can't come back."

"I just hope we _never_ have to go through something like Menrovia ever again!" Coiley shouted.

"Here, here!" Multi agreed.

"Amen, brother!" Phyllis shouted.

"It was that bad, eh?" Big D asked.

"The worst!" Coiley shouted. "A living nightmare! There were these dark woods . . . . . ."

"And giant beetles . . . . ." Multi said.

"Dangerous, mythical creatures . . . . ." Phyllis put in.

"Giant mountain lions . . . . ."

"A bloody river . . . . . ."

"Floating mountains . . . . . ."

"Shark monsters . . . . . ."

"Giant rats . . . . ."

"A sea of spiders . . . . ."

"A light that nearly sliced our heads off . . . . ."

"Trap doors . . . . . ."

"He turned us into stone statues . . . . . ."

"Hold it, hold it, hold it!" Big D shouted, when he realized Coiley, Multi, and Phyllis were all talking at once.

"I honestly don't even think I _want_ to know," he said once the trio calmed down a little. "All I'm concerned about is that you're all back safely, and that magician is gone for good."

"Yeah, but I really want to know how Fluey got out from under that spell," Coiley said.

At that moment, a nurse came out of a room, and approached the group.

"Miss Dawson?" she said, walking over.

"Yes?" Phyllis asked.

"We've finished up with your brother and are moving him to another room," the nurse said. "He'll be just fine in a few days."

"Can we go see him?" Multi asked. The nurse nodded, and led the foursome to an elevator. She led them to a room on the fifth floor of the hospital. Fluey was laying in a bed, hooked up to an IV, with a bandage around his head, and his arm. He looked over at Coiley, Multi, Phyllis, and Big D and smiled.

"Hi guys," he said, weakly.

"Are you all right?" Big D asked. "I'll have you know I nearly had a heart attack waiting for you to return!"

"I couldn't help it, chief," Fluey said, shrugging. "But at least it's all over."

"Yeah, thank goodness for that," Coiley said. "But how'd you get out from Maldour's nightmare spell?"

"Well, you're not gonna believe this," Fluey said. "But it was thanks to Cronella."

"Cronella?!" Multi shouted. "You're right, I _don't_ believe it!"

"Yeah, but it's true," Fluey said. "She said she drank this potion to get into my nightmares, and she said the only way out was for me to face my fears. And let me tell you guys something, it wasn't easy! All my fears were in monster form! I almost couldn't do it, but Cronella convinced me to."

"I had to," Cronella said, appearing at the window. The doctors and nurses had left the room already.

"It was the only way out of that mess," Cronella continued. She jumped off the window sill and onto Fluey's hospital bed.

"Might I suggest you look into getting him some therapy, though?" she asked Big D. "Inside that boy's mind . . . . . . not a pretty sight. But I'm sure it's nothing a lifetime of thearpy won't fix."

"I'll see what I can do," Big D said, giving Cronella a dirty look.

"In any rate, I have something else to tell you," Cronella continued. "Danalleah's out in that car of the boys with a crystal ball. I need you to lock it up good. Under any circumstances, do _not_ let it break! Fluid Man's inner demons are inside of it, and all heck could break loose if they broke out."

"I'll take care of it personally," Big D said. "That is what I should have done with that amulet in the first place. Then maybe none of this would have happened."

"Well, at least we got rid of it," Fluey said, and he began scratching Cronella behind the ears. "I never thought I'd actually say this, but thanks for the help, Cronella. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't have gotten out from under that nightmare spell."

"I know, I know. Just do me a favor. Don't tell the witch's union _or_ the Association of Evil Villains about this. I have a reputation to maintain!"

"Sure thing, Cronella."

"Because the next time we meet, Impossibles, I may not be so willing to go easy on you!"

And with that, Cronella jumped out of the window and ran off toward the pound. She figured, since she was stuck as a cat, she couldn't really do any crimes. Besides, she was tired and wanted to get some rest after that moonstone fiasco. And the others had the same idea as well.

"I think it's time we all got some rest from this one," Big D said. "I'll take care of the crystal now while I'm thinking about it. Then, I think it's time we all took a vacation."

"I agree, chief," Coiley said. "After this caper, I think we all need it!"

The others agreed, and left the room. Fluey yawned, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep. He, like the others, were only grateful the nightmare was finally over.

The End


End file.
